


Markings of the Six

by SakuraAngel1



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, F/M, Female Reader, Fivesome - F/M/M/M/M, Game Spoilers, M/M, Multi, Mystery, Polyamory, Porn With Plot, Reader-Insert, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2018-09-19 06:04:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 38,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9421787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SakuraAngel1/pseuds/SakuraAngel1
Summary: Cor Leonis, the Marshal of the Crownsguard, who is also your father, is a strict man that you usually obey without question.But one day, you discover that pieces of your past no longer make sense and you start to ask tough questions of your own...Why is that only you, Ignis, Gladio and Prompto have lost your memories 13 years ago?Why is it that you and the four guys all get headaches whenever an Astral appears?And why is it that you feel love and deep anguish whenever you touch the Crown Prince and his best friends?





	1. The Beginning/Noctis

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own any of the characters from Final Fantasy XV.
> 
> Welcome! While this is NOT my first fanfiction in general, this is my first FFXV as well as my first reader-POV fanfiction. This is also my first time posting a story here, but I will be transferring my other works here soon as this is a really nice community!
> 
> So, with that I hope you enjoy this story! (Please note: The first few chapters will be an intro to your life as well as your connection with the other Chocobros, so hang in there for the REALLY good smutty stuff...) *wink*

**_Markings of the Six_ **

~*~*~

 **Chapter 1:** _The Beginning/Noctis_

~*~*~

Sleep…

That’s all you really desired.

You’ve never been this exhausted before, yet somehow this level of tiredness was accompanied by a few dulling aches all over your body.

As you begin to move, you couldn’t help but to groan out loud in pain. Yet, there was still something that caught your ear that made you move in the first place.

There were a few voices talking quietly somewhere in the room and you could faintly hear the TV playing close by.

As you try once again to sit up, you notice that this time you are not in bed, but on a large, fine leather couch; covered with a blanket and a few soft pillows behind your head.

“Hey, hey, hey…take it easy there, Princess.” A male’s voice said soothingly, laced with a hint of concern.

The voice came from your right, behind the couch, but before you could fully sit up to see over it, a man with a short brown hair, dressed in all black came from around it and knelt down by your side.

The man seemed vaguely familiar, as he stared at you in concern with his light blue eyes, but for the moment, you couldn’t seem to place him.

A long haired, sandy-blonde woman dressed in a black skirt, black heels and a large white overcoat with a stethoscope around her neck, also appeared from around the couch and stood by the man’s side.

“It looks like she’s regained consciousness…that’s a very good sign. Just remember the treatment options we’ve discussed and she will recover in no time. However, as it was a traumatic event, she may have some lingering psychological side effects, in which you may want to seek a Psychologist for further treatment…” The female doctor explained.

The man looked away from you, to look at the doctor instead and gave the woman a nod.

“Right…I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.” He replied.

The doctor then began to head back behind the couch, but only to return with a sleek, black briefcase, in which she started to open it; retrieving something and holding it behind her back.

The woman knelt by your side and offered you a warm smile, as she revealed what she was hiding behind her back…

A teddy bear.

Numbly, you stared at the stuff animal for a long moment, before you weakly reached out for it; taking it in your small arms and pressing it close to your little body, in an embrace.

“That little bear and your daddy are going to help try to make you feel better. Alright, sweetheart?” The doctor said gently.

You nod torpidly in response; unsure of what to say and a bit too tired to respond, but yet you’re gathering information at the same time.

 _So, this man here is my…dad…?_ You thought to yourself. Was that why he seemed a bit familiar?

But why is it that you couldn’t remember something so important?

The doctor, then rose to her feet and offered your father a small nod as she strode over to a door.

“I leave her to you, Marshal. Are you sure that the Crownsguard could survive a few days without you?” She asked over her shoulder.

“I’ve already informed them, so they’ll be fine. My daughter is a bigger priority now. Thank you for your help,” Your father replies; not once breaking his concerned gaze upon your small form.

“Take care and please don’t hesitate to call if something arises.” With that, the blonde doctor left out of the door; leaving the both of you alone.

There were a few moments of heavy silence between the two of you, but his concerned gaze was focused intensely on you. It looked as though he wanted to say something, but struggled to find the words to do so.

Then suddenly, you noticed behind his kneeling form that there was a TV running. Curiously, you tried to peek over his head as a few words from the flat-screen television caught your attention.

With narrowed, anxious eyes, your father turned his head to look over his shoulder; following your line of sight.

‘PALLADIA UNDER ATTACK’ was what the caption on the TV displayed so boldly and above the words were live footages from a helicopter that appeared to show a burning, massive city with several falling tall structures.

Your eyes automatically widen in horror as your heart felt as though it had dropped into stomach…but you can’t seem to fathom why.

Unexpectedly, the flat-screen TV goes black.

You turn to your father and watched as he heaved a huge sigh, before tucking the remote away in the pocket of his pair of black pants. With a bit of hesitation, he turns his light blue gaze back onto you again.

“Listen…this is going to be hard to explain, but this is really important and I want you to understand what’s going on, okay?” He said in a low, careful voice.

Silently, you nod at him and held the stuffed bear closer; unsure as to why you felt a sense of dread and uneasiness at his statement.

With a deep sigh, he ran his fingers through his short, brown hair and started to speak.

“You don’t know me, but I’m your father. We’ve never met until now, because you and your mother were living away in Palladia. The Imperials…they’ve attacked your city and hurt a lot of people, including yourself. And your mother…” He trailed as his voice began to fade.

It looked as though he was going to cry, but instead he visibly swallowed hard and seemingly pushed away the feeling; instead he chose to put on a mask of strength and bravery instead, before he continued.

“Your mother… I tried to reach her in time, but I was too late. She tried to protect the both of you on her own, but she’s gone now. You’re safe here. So, from now on, I have to take care of you,” He finished explaining, although he still seemed a bit choked up.

Your heart lurched as tears started to form in your eyes. You didn’t realize how weak you truly felt until you used your energy to speak.

“M-mom’s…gone?” You asked hoarsely.

Silently he nodded and with that, the tears you’ve started to hold back, began to fall freely as you started to sob.

You held on to your new teddy bear tightly as your father began to pat your back in comfort.

Why was this happening? What was going to happen to you now?

You felt so lost, so hurt and so confused...

Your heart felt as though it was being crushed at the realization of what had occurred and you wanted so desperately for the pain to stop.

Through your tears, you try to remember what happened before Palladia came under attack, but for some odd reason you couldn’t. You also tried to remember your mother, but the only thing that came from it was more emotional pain.

The pain…it was too much to bear for a seven year old girl.

Blindingly, through your tears, you throw your small arms around your father, who hesitantly returns your embrace, before rubbing your back soothingly.

“…I know I’m not good at this parenting stuff. So you’ll have to forgive me, because I’m new to this type of thing, but I’m going to do my best from now on. You’re safe here and I’m going to take care of you. I promise, I’ll be there for you no matter what,” He reassured softly.

~*~*~

_2 WEEKS LATER_

It had been two weeks since you were first introduced to your father and in those two weeks you’ve recovered well from your injuries that you’ve received back in Palladia, as well as learned a few things about your current situation.

Insomnia…that is the city where you were living now with your dad. It is such a large city, but nowhere as large and as beautiful as Palladia, from what you’ve been told. Yet, oddly enough you couldn’t remember what it was like.

There were a lot of things that you couldn’t remember, mainly because of the emotional pain attached to those forgotten memories whenever you did try to recall. You suppose it was better this way…to focus on the present, instead of lingering onto the past.

But still, you couldn’t help, but to wonder…

“Oh, Cor…is that your daughter? She’s so pretty,” A woman seated next to him whispered.

Your father, named Cor Leonis, was the Marshal of the Crownsguard for the royal family of Insomnia. It was the first time in a few weeks that he had returned to his workplace, as he had spent most of the time away from his duty, trying to help you recover and adjust to your new life with him.

But the occasion of his return was a very somber one...

Donned in a black pleated dress with a pair of black shoes and a matching beret, you were both attending the funeral of Queen Aulea, who died trying to protect the eight year old Crown Prince from a daemon attack.

Keeping his eyes forward during the funeral procession, the Marshal simply nodded in response to the woman. You knew that your father blamed himself for not being there, because he was home taking care of you instead.

And you couldn’t help but to feel guilty about it.

Quietly, you clutch your teddy bear close and upon doing so, your dad placed his large hand on top of your smaller one before giving it a gentle squeeze.

Curiously, a little boy that sat next to you on your right, peered over his glasses to stare at your stuffed animal.

“Why did you bring that here?” He inquired pointedly with a raised eyebrow.

The boy looked no older than ten years old and had light brown hair that was neatly trimmed for the funeral. He was dressed in a nice, black button down shirt with a pair of black pants, matching shoes and a tie and wore a pair of glasses. Overall, he looked well-polished for someone his age and seemed very precocious when he spoke; speaking with a proper, yet foreign accent.

Before you had the chance to reply, an older man placed a hand on the young boy’s shoulder and pressed the boy back into sitting properly in his seat.

“Hush, now Ignis…the funeral is still proceeding.” The older man chided softly, causing the boy named Ignis to focus back on the funeral.

The funeral was being televised live, so there was no room for error for anyone, as the whole world was currently watching them from inside of Insomnia’s throne room.

“Our apologies, Marshal…Miss Leonis,” The older man whispered as he offered a slight bow to you and your father, before giving Ignis a stern look.

With that, the rest of the funeral went along smoothly, yet quietly as you sat patiently through the service.

There was a moment when your heart ached upon seeing the injured Crown Prince. Especially when he was being wheeled out on a wheelchair and carried up to throne by his father, the King, to sit with him on his lap, which caused a lot of sad whispering amongst the attendees.

During the entire service, the father and son pair sat above the closed, black casket during the service with looks of sorrow upon their faces and you couldn’t help but to feel even guiltier as the funeral went on.

As the funeral slowly came to a close, one by one, people in each row rose up and made their way to the front to place white flowers onto the black casket. When it was finally your row’s turn to go up and pay their respect to the deceased Queen, attendees broke out into whispers again, but this time it was more feverish.

You didn’t realize that it was about you until your father took you by the hand and led you towards the casket; passing by several gossiping nobles.

“Is that Cor’s secret love child?” One man whispered.

“I heard she survived the attack on Palladia, poor thing.” A woman whispered sadly; watching as you went by.

“What a beautiful little girl…she probably looks like her mother. Why did he ever leave them?” Another woman said.

You must have stopped to stare at the last woman, because your father tugged at your small hand to try to keep up with him as he approached the casket, but still the lady’s question sort of bothered you and it was one that the Marshal had vaguely answered before.

 _“I wasn’t ready to marry your Mom, but I would have, if I knew she was pregnant with you_ ,” His honest answer replayed in your mind once again.

Tightly, you held your teddy bear close to your heart with your free hand; feeling anxious.

Before you knew it, the pair of you had reached the casket and you could feel everybody’s eyes upon you and your father as he placed a white floral bouquet onto the large mountain of other white flowers lying upon the coffin.

For just a fleeting moment, you gaze up at the throne above and steal a glance at the depressed, injured boy sitting atop his father’s knee. The feeling of guilt was more pronounced in your heart, as you realized that you and the Crown Prince had something in common.

You both lost your mothers…and your father, the Marshal of the Crownsguard, wasn’t there to prevent the loss. If you felt so horrible now, the pain and guilt that your father probably felt was immense.

Silently, the Marshal tugged gently at your hand; signaling that he was done paying his respect to the former Queen and was moving back to your seats. As the pair of you made it halfway down the aisle, with the whispering about you and your dad never ceasing, you paused as you glance back at the young, dark haired Prince.

You were only a year apart, as far as your ages went, but the constant depression that you felt and what the Crown Prince probably felt was something that even emotionally crippled the adults in the world.

It was just too much to bear for those so young and now, because your dad had stayed at home to look after you, another child, the Crown Prince mainly, had suffered a loss as well.

Painfully, your heart began to ache from the guilt.

If only you could do something…

You hear your father quietly call your name as he realized that you’ve suddenly stopped again.

Firmly, he tries to pull your hand to get you to follow along, but you resist; breaking away from him as your tiny hand slipped away from his larger one.

The Marshal calls your name again, but this time a little more loudly as you find yourself rushing back to the coffin, from which the pair of you had just left; easily forgetting that the funeral was being televised live.

Upon seeing you rush back to the coffin in a hurry, the curious attendees, all donned in black, rose to their feet and gasped; speaking in low, shocked voices.

“What is she doing?”

“Where is she going?” The different voices around you ask as you pass them by again.

Everyone expected you to stop at the casket, but when you didn’t and boldly rushed up the flight of stairs to head towards the throne to the King, everyone gasped in horror as the armed guards blocked your path to reach him; with their guns pointed at you.

Cor calls your name frantically as he quickly makes his way through the crowd towards you and you begin to panic as you realize what you had done in front of the whole world.

“It’s alright…let her through,” A calm male’s voice said from behind the armed guards.

Immediately, the guards put away their guns and stepped aside, just in time as your father finally reaches you; placing a firm hand on your small shoulders.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty. My daughter is new to Insomnia and I have yet to teach her royal protocol,” Cor says with a low, reverent bow.

“It’s quite alright, Cor. I know of your current circumstance,” King Regis says to the Marshal before turning his vibrant, blue eyes to you. “Young lady, you may approach as you please.”

The crowd behind you went from shocked gasps, to frenzied whispering, to absolute silence within a matter of a moment after King Regis addressed you.

Glancing nervously back at the Marshal, who still had his head bowed, but flashed you a stern, warning look, you turn back to the King and the Crown Prince and shakily continued your climb; clutching your teddy bear to look for some sort of comfort.

When you finally reached the top, you mimic the bow that you saw your father give the King, before staring up at him with large, anxious eyes.

“Is there something you desire to say, little one?” The King asks you.

Glancing over at the black haired Crown Prince, who now stared back at you with anguished, cerulean eyes, you nodded numbly.

Timidly, you began to speak; choosing to talk to the Crown Prince directly.

“I just want to say that I’m sorry that my Daddy wasn’t there to protect your Mommy. I got hurt and lost my Mommy too, so Daddy couldn’t come to work,” You explained apologetically.

Shyly, you hold out your hand and present your stuffed bear to the Prince. “My doctor gave me this teddy bear to help make me feel better and smile again, so I think you could use him too,” You said with a small, hopeful smile.

The Crown Prince stares at you as he is slightly taken aback with the kind gesture, before he looks up at the King; seeking out further instruction.

King Regis nods at him in approval and turns back to you to offer you a small, warm smile.

Handing the Prince your beloved teddy bear, you anxiously offer another bow, before scurrying back down to the Marshal’s side; timidly clinging onto one of his large hands with the pair of your own hands.

“Thank you, little one, for such a kind and humble gesture. I am sure that Prince Noctis appreciates your generosity and I will make sure that he will take good care of his new friend,” King Regis says to you.

The King’s statement and your gesture, earns a heartfelt “ _aww_ ”, from the crowd behind you, before you and the Marshal make your way back to your seating.

Gently, Cor pats your head as you sit back down next to a now wide-eyed Ignis.

The Marshal felt slightly proud that your action was deemed favorable by the King as well as amongst his loyal subjects and not as an embarrassment on live broadcast.

Unbeknownst to you, the eight year old Crown Prince, who still sat atop his father’s knee, found that he could no longer take his eyes off of you after such a bold, yet compassionate gesture.

Squeezing the stuffed bear close to his chest as the funeral drew to a close, Noctis began to feel tears well-up in his eyes, but not because he felt sad…

“Thank you,” He mumbles quietly into the bear as he watches you from his father’s throne.

For once, someone outside of his household was kind enough to show that they cared about him and his well-being and _not_ just because they were _required_ to.

That was what moved the young Prince to the verge of tears.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For further updates and chapter discussions, please check out my Facebook page: https://facebook.com/SakuraAngelOfficial
> 
> ~*~*~  
> NEXT TIME:
> 
> Chapter 2: The Beginning/Ignis
> 
> You and Ignis are rivals, whether its in academics or simply trying to impress the royal family, you are constantly competing with the annoying brunette.
> 
> But it appears that Ignis cares about you more than you know...


	2. The Beginning/Ignis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Ignis are rivals, but it seems that the two of you have more in common than what you've first thought.

**Chapter 2:** _The Beginning/Ignis_

~*~*~

_6 YEARS LATER_

It had been 6 years since that day; the day you’ve attended Queen Aulea’s funeral.

However, ever since that very day, the people of Insomnia knew who you were, regardless of whether they knew your face or not.

It was a live televised event and such an act of compassion was easily picked up by the media everywhere across Lucis. An adorable seven year old girl, offering the eight year old Crown Prince her stuffed bear to help cheer him up was a heartwarming moment that the world needed to see, to restore a bit of faith in humanity at the time.

 _The girl with the teddy bear_ ; the people of the Crown City recalled fondly of you.

It was either that or “ _Cor’s secret love child_ ”, if they needed an extra reminder to help remember who you were if your name was ever mentioned.

A heavy sigh escaped your lips, as you rolled your eyes and shook your head.

Oh, how the people of Insomnia just _loved_ to gossip…

Even if you were just a thirteen year old girl…gossip about yourself or your father often spread like a misfired Firaga spell.

Like how they said you were getting unusually close to a certain Crown Prince and that your father was using that to his advantage, so that you may marry into the royal family to gain wealth…

A huge blush stained your cheeks, as you thought about how absurd those rumors were.

You hardly knew Prince Noctis and rarely saw him in passing at school or at the castle, yet jealous gossipers were already insinuating that you were trying to weasel your way into the royal family!

Trying to regain focus on the task at hand, you shook your head and your thoughts away as you picked up a new looking, leather-bound book and continued to read.

 **_The Leviathan:_ ** _A ferocious, water Astral that once belonged to the Accordian royal bloodline. It had once loved and protected the mortal humans of the world, but began to despise humans after the first war against Niflheim and Lucis; impacted by the betrayal of a rogue Lucis queen against the royal family of Accordo. Rather than just lending its immense power to its former allies of Lucian descent, the water Astral often engages them in battle; with its own defeat being the only way to prove one’s worth in using it as a Summon._

_In the year 744 M.E, the anticipated “ **Treaty of the Six”** held the potential to reunite the six countries and six Astrals with the arranged marriages between each of the royal heirs. However, after the coordinated attack of Palladia and the ambush of Tenebrae, only two of the heirs from the original treaty survived; Princess Lunafreya Nox Fleuret and Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum._

Involuntarily, you reach out and run your fingers gently across the pair of names in the book, before you jerked back at the realization of what you’ve done; feeling a hot blush spreading across your cheeks.

 _No_ , there was no way you had a crush on Prince Noctis! Sure, he was cute, but you often pitied the young boy more than anything. The rumors about you two were really making you sick to your stomach and gave you a big headache.

Frustrated, you hunched over a bit in your seat, screwed your eyes shut and began to massage the bridge of your nose between two of your fingers.

“That’s not very ladylike. You’ll wind up with a bad posture if you continue to sit like that,” Said a haughty voice out of the blue.

Speaking of a big headache…

Instantly, your eyes pop open to glare at the source of the voice as you growled and huffed in annoyance under your breath.

 _Ignis,_ You mentally snarled as you watched the fifteen year old take a seat directly across from you at the table inside one of the castle’s massive libraries. He was wearing his advisor apprentice uniform, consisting of a well ironed white buttoned down shirt, a black embroidered vest, a black tie and black slacks with matching well polished shoes.

Gracefully, you sit back up and adjust your position with such poise that one could have easily mistaken you as a child of noble birth with years of careful, yet tedious practice.

Redirecting your annoyed glare from the spectacle wearing brunette to an uninteresting portrait, you raise your chin pretentiously and lightly scrunched your nose.

“I was minding my own business, can’t you tell? It would be nice if you would mind your own for once,” You quipped sharply as you crossed your legs and folded your arms across your chest.

Ignis simply raised a nicely shaped eyebrow, before slightly leaning back in the plush, leather armchair; pointedly mimicking your position by also crossing his legs and arms.

“As an apprentice to become the future King’s advisor, it _is_ my business to know everything that goes on in the castle. For instance, finding the reason why you are in the King’s private study instead of using the main library downstairs,” Ignis probed; casually pushing up his glasses with his index finger.

Silently, you find yourself gritting your teeth.

No matter where you went, whether it was school or the castle, or even running into each other in town, Ignis was always there to meddle into your business and would smugly point out your flaws.

The pair of you excelled in all of your classes and were the top two students of the school.

Mainly you, since you were so intelligent that you had to skip over middle school and attend the private high school academy of Insomnia as a 13 year old freshman. But upon attending the academy, you immediately wished that you could have stayed back in middle school, as you quickly discovered that all of your advanced classes had the irritating brunette in them as well.

The fact that your intelligence rivaled his seemed to have made the older teen a bit jealous and often resulted in the pair of you trying to overachieve in every little thing, to prove which one was better at something.

More often than not, it usually wound up giving you a huge headache by the end of each day.

Oh, how you wished you could just punch him square in the face and break those stupid pair of glasses in the process…maybe break his nose too, while you were at it; just to get this whole secret competition over with.

Instead, you force a strained smile upon your face, still keeping the appearance of a proper young lady and continued to raise your chin in a snobbish manner.

“That may be so, but it doesn’t mean that I have to answer to _you_ yet. Besides, I have His Majesty’s permission to be in here. So now if you don’t mind, I have some research to do,” You replied dismissively.

You gave a small smirk when you spotted one of Ignis’ eyebrows twitch irritably out of the corner of your eye at your statement; knowing that you easily got under his skin just as he always did with you.

“So I guess the rumor about you and the Crown Prince is true,” He grounded out crossly as he folded his arms a bit more tightly.

A breathless laugh of disbelief escaped your lips before you ever had the chance to repress it properly and you could feel your blood beginning to boil in anger.

“You too? Honestly, the things that jealous people say around here…” You scoffed vehemently as you closed the large, heavy books you were researching from with several ‘ _snaps_ ’ and quickly rose to your feet; straightening the skirt of your high school uniform.

Indignantly, Ignis gave a small snort.

“ _Jealous_?” He repeated incredulously.

Gathering the large books from the table to go put them away on the shelves again, you failed to notice how Ignis’ bright green gaze intently followed your every move; more notably watching the way your hips swayed in your short, uniform skirt as you made your way to different bookshelves.

“Yes, _jealous_. Only those type of people would make up or even believe such a stupid thing,” You snapped back as you continued to put away the King’s books you’ve borrowed.

Behind your back, Ignis ran one of his hands through his light brown hair and tried to calm himself with a shaky breath, before his stare became more intense as you tried to reach a higher shelf on the tip of your toes. He swallowed hard as he watched how your skirt was gradually rising higher.

 _Just a little bit more…_ The both of you thought simultaneously.

Closing his eyes tightly and trying to calm down his raging hormones by shaking his head, Ignis tore his gaze away from you. It was an undignified thing to do and he was not about to be called out as a pervert…

No matter how bad he wanted to look.

“I am certain that I am _not_ jealous. But you being in here proves everyone’s point. Surely, the King has similar books that you could obtain _elsewhere_ in the castle. If you are not trying to get closer to the Crown Prince, then maybe you shouldn’t frequent the places he usually shows up to,” Ignis replied frostily.

Silently, grinding your teeth again at Ignis’ statement, you decided to give up on placing the book back on the top shelf without assistance and stormed over to your previous seat at the high-backed, fine leather chair.

If looks could kill, then yours would have definitely killed Ignis over a million times by now. Your intense glare at the older teen did nothing to affect him; in fact, he wore a smug expression of amusement, if anything.

“Just leave me alone. I have enough problems to deal with, without you nosing your way into my personal life,” You bit out.

You placed the last book that you tried to put away, onto the leather chair and proceeded to push the lavish chair towards the shelf you were at previously.

Instantly, a mortified Ignis jumped to his feet; calling your name.

“What on earth are you doing? That’s one of the King’s private chairs…you can’t do that!” He scolded as he rushed over to you.

“What? It’s not like I can actually depend on _you_ to help me out. You jerk-”

Before you could even finish, the tall brunette unexpectedly snatched the book out of your hand and began to put it away.

Well, he _nearly_ succeeded in placing it back. That was before you angrily tried to snatch back the book.

“I’m perfectly capable of doing this by myself, _Iggy_!” You grounded out as you pulled the book away from him.

Audaciously, Ignis pulled the book right back into his hold.

“Given your stature, I thought you could use the assistance. So, allow me-”

“Give it back!” You shouted as you tried to reach for the book, but Ignis was much taller than you and was now holding the book above his head with an outstretched arm; a look of displeasure displaying on his face.

“Absolutely not. The Crown Prince likes to study in here…was meeting him what you were trying to accomplish?” He inquired pointedly.

You could practically feel your face burning up from the sheer embarrassment of Ignis’ question. Why did everyone believe you had some sort of crush on Prince Noctis? And what the hell did it have to do with Ignis anyway, if you did?

“ _No_. I was doing my own personal research, so give it back. I can put it away myself,” You retorted.

Sensing an opening, you launched forward to grab the book from above Ignis’ head, but instead of grabbing the book, you wound up totally crashing into Ignis instead; effectively knocking the both of you onto the black and white marble floor with a “oomph”.

You were now lying on top of the older teen’s chest, but that hardly mattered to you as you saw the book still clutched in his hand. Taking the opportunity of him trying to recover from the unexpected fall, you reached for the book by grabbing Ignis’ wrist.

And that’s when it happened.

Your vision began to go blurry as your whole body felt as though it was swaying back and forth on a dizzying boat. You tried to focus on Ignis’ face to try to sustain your vision, but with each blink it was rapidly fading into one white blur. You could hear him call your name out in confusion, but despite your proximity to each other, his voice sounded as though it was a million miles away.

Rapidly blinking to regain your sight, the view in front of you was beginning to become a bit clearer, however, it was not what you’ve expected to be.

Ignis…

He was there, right in front of you, but not lying on the ground. Instead, he was lying upon a hospital bed covered in white blankets and with blood-soaked bandages all over his body and across his forehead.

This was not the annoying, teenaged Ignis that you knew now, but it was the younger Ignis that you’ve met back at Queen Aulea’s funeral.

The young boy was lying helplessly on the hospital bed, hooked up with medical monitoring machines and an oxygen mask; struggling to breathe as you watched his small chest go up and down with each labored breath he took.

Slowly and carefully, Ignis turned his head in your direction and locked his anguished filled green eyes with you.

It was then, that you’ve noticed that you were also in a hospital bed, wearing a blue hospital gown, hooked up to machines and covered with bloodied bandages, but instead of lying down, you were sitting up just staring at the boy in the bed across from you.

“Her vitals are stabilizing, but she’s been severely traumatized and hasn’t said a word yet…” You heard a voice say off to the side, but just like the teenaged Ignis’ voice from before, it sounded as though they were far, far away.

Still, despite the talking, you kept your eyes on Ignis, who wore a pained expression as he stared back at you.

Weakly, the young and severely injured brunette slowly lifted his right arm and held his outstretched hand to you; seeking some form of comfort.

Yet, all you could do was stare at him as you knew something tremendously horrible had occurred to put you two in this state.

But for the life of you, you couldn’t remember…

 _Why_ is it that you couldn’t remember?

You knew that Ignis had also survived the attack on Palladia and was also sent to Insomnia to go live with his uncle who served as King Regis’ advisor, but you didn’t know until now that you knew Ignis before the funeral.

Was this a dream or was this a memory?

It was so hard to tell.

You felt so numb and yet your heart ached so much that it felt as though it was killing you, as you continued to stare blankly at Ignis’ outstretched hand.

He was reaching for you and feebly calling your name with tears welling up in his eyes…but all you could so was stare at him in heartbreaking silence.

Finally, when he realized that you were not going to respond, the broken boy let out a choked sob and dropped his arm to hang limply from the side of the bed; staring at the ceiling as he began to weep.

Your heart was aching so painfully at watching him, but you still sat there with an empty expression; a lone tear falling from your right eye.

Then your vision began to blur once again, accompanied with the swaying feeling as the scene in front of you slowly disappeared.

You watched as a nurse approached the side of Ignis’ bed and tried to comfort the crying boy.

“It’s okay…we’re going to make her better, we promise…” The nurse’s voice resounded as the scene blurred away into white.

Suddenly, you felt something underneath you shift and you immediately became aware of your current surrounding.

Blinking rapidly once again, you found yourself on top of a teenaged Ignis, who was now staring back at you with an unreadable expression as he clutched his heart.

_Did he see what I just saw?_

Hesitantly, you release his wrist, but as you did the feelings of anguish and heartbreak started to lessen; however they still lingered within you.

Also clutching your heart, you wordlessly stare at him again, but this time you felt the desire to comfort him.

Automatically, you began to reach out to touch his face.

However, he pulled away and sat up, looking at something behind you.

“Y-your Highness,” Ignis addressed hoarsely.

Your heart dropped at what Ignis said and you swallowed nervously as you scrambled to your feet; readjusting your school uniform before you turned around.

Prince Noctis was standing in the doorway and it was clear that he had been watching you two, as a dark expression seemed to cross his face. You offered the Crown Prince a low respectful bow, however, the fourteen year old boy simply backed away and left without a word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For further updates and chapter discussions, please check out my Facebook page: https://facebook.com/SakuraAngelOfficial
> 
> ~*~*~  
> NEXT TIME:
> 
> Chapter 3: The Beginning/Gladiolus
> 
> It's finally time for you to follow in your father's footsteps, and by doing so, you begin your Crownsguard training. 
> 
> However, during the final exam when you face up against Gladio, you uncover another lost memory when the both of you touch...


	3. The Beginning/Gladiolus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally time for you to follow in your father's footsteps, and by doing so, you begin your Crownsguard training.
> 
> However, during the final exam when you face up against Gladio, you uncover another lost memory when the both of you touch...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say thank you for giving this story a chance and thanks for the Kudos! You guys are the real MVPs and it makes me happy that you enjoy this story~! 
> 
> I humbly dedicate these chapters to you (the reader)! *hugs* <3

**Chapter 3:** _The Beginning/Gladiolus_

~*~*~

_3 YEARS LATER_

Three years had passed since the incident in the library with Ignis and ever since then, you’ve never really ran into him again.

 _Well_ , you made it a point to _not_ run into him again, since you’ve started to avoid him.

Sure, the two of you had the same classes and extracurricular activities, not to mention you both frequented the Insomnian castle, but whenever you saw Ignis, you would start running in the opposite direction; uncertain of what emotions and memories may come back.

But you had questions…a _lot_ of questions.

So obviously, the only other person you could ask who may hold the answers to the past was your dad.

Later that night, you confronted the Marshal and he began to explain.

He told you that it was only natural during traumatic events for Mages to wipe the memories of those who were strongly affected by it. Apparently after the attack, you had gone into so much shock that you’ve mentally retreated into yourself and had gone into a cycle of expressing no emotion whatsoever to having random fits of crying and screaming.

No one knew what you’ve witnessed, but it was clear that it was a horror so great that it was beyond the capability of a seven year old girl to process; which resulted in you literally losing your mind.

When you asked about Ignis and if he knew you at the time, Cor merely offered a shrug.

“I don’t know, to be honest. The kid was in bad shape, but not as bad as the others I’ve seen. When the doctors finally allowed me to see you, the Mages had wiped everyone’s memories and put all of you to sleep.” Cor stated; though it looked as though he wanted to say more.

When you told your father about what happened when you touched Ignis and the feelings you’ve felt; the Marshal sighed deeply.

“The doctors told me there were going to be some side-effects of the spells the Mages used and that’s one of them. They can erase your memories, but not your feelings associated with them if they are triggered by someone or something. The fact that you even remembered the hospital is just baffling.”

With that, the Marshal had nothing else to offer in terms of information as he said that he only just met you at the hospital before you were discharged to go home with him.

Feeling somewhat satisfied with Cor’s explanation, (although not really), you decide to not press the subject anymore; slightly afraid that continuing the topic may trigger another memory that could result into losing your mind again.

So, that was the end of that conversation.

As much as you wanted to ask Ignis if he saw what you saw, you didn’t.

You were fairly sure that you both _felt_ the emotions that were associated with that memory, as the expression on his face gave it away, but you weren’t entirely sure that he saw the flashback; as he looked at you and his wrist in confusion afterwards. Your father said that it was normal to feel the emotions after one’s memories had been wiped, but he said that it was highly unusual and rare that one could _see_ the erased memory, even if it was just a glimpse.

Although you didn’t enjoy the feelings of anguish that lingered from when you’ve touched the brunette, you despised the underlying warm, fuzzy feeling you felt even more.

With that, you’ve decided to leave the past alone and avoid Ignis at all costs.

In which you had done successfully for three years now.

“…We will now commence the practical portion of the final exam. This portion will largely determine your place within the Crownsguard, so remember to give it your all.” You hear the echoing voice of the Crownsguard General say from the front of the castle’s massive training room.

10 people had made it through the final written exam of the Crownsguard training and were now standing shoulder to shoulder donned in black outfits on the left side of the training room. On the opposite side, there stood veteran Crownsguard members, a few council members and loved ones who were invited to watch the practical exam; you spot your dad towards the front of the crowd.

It was hard to believe that out of 150 original applicants, that it was now down to the final 10. It was mostly due to the grueling training, the tedious studying and the massive amount of pressure that resulted in others dropping out.

But not you...you hung in there.

You had the Leonis name to uphold and disappointment was a word you never wanted to be associated with you.

You were currently the youngest trainee the Crownsguard had in recent years to have made it this far in the exam, but it hardly surprised anyone as Cor was your father and mentor. Initially, the Marshal was against it when you expressed your interest in joining, but after training you for 3 years and seeing how well you were proceeding after joining a year ago, Cor caved in.

The three years that had went by, changed you from a 13 year old tiny, delicate flower to a more serious and deadly looking 16 year old femme fatale.

You were even given a nickname amongst those who trained with you in the Crownsguard and it stuck with you just as it did with your father’s own moniker he earned.

They called him Cor, The Immortal and you were now known as The Siren.

“Ah, y-your Majesty…your H-highness, are you here to observe the exam?” You heard the General ask in astonishment; instantly snapping you out of your thoughts.

You watched as King Regis enter into the room, donned in his black and gold kingly raiment with Prince Noctis right behind him. Following behind the pair of royals, you see Clarus Amicitia and to your surprise, you see Ignis and his uncle as well.

“Yes, surely you don’t mind. It’s not every day that we are able to observe such an important event,” The King replied with a warm smile; giving the General a pat on the back as he passed him.

You understood why Clarus was there, because his son was also part of the final 10 in this exam, but as for the King, the Prince, Ignis and his uncle, you failed to comprehend. Even from the General’s surprised voice, you could tell that it was unusual for the King to attend the Crownsguard examination; immediately, your head snapped over to your father and you raised a curious eyebrow.

Cor gave a subtle shrug and was just as confused and curious as everyone else was, although his stoic face didn’t reveal it. As the King, the Crown Prince and their followers crossed the room to stand amongst the other observers, everyone offered them a low bow.

If you were a bit nervous about the exam before, you were definitely nervous now, as King Regis, Prince Noctis and the others chose to stand next to the Marshal in the front row. You were too preoccupied with staring at the King and your father, who were now chatting idly in low voices, that you failed to notice that Noctis and Ignis were staring intensely right at you.

“Now, the exam will commence. The rules of this final exam are simple. You and your opponent will be given a red flag, which you will attach to your hip. Your goal is to be the first one to capture the other person’s flag, by means of hand to hand combat. There are no other rules besides the use of no weapons or magic to complete your goal, however, please note that your use of offensive and defensive finesse will also determine your final grade. Is that clear?” The General stated firmly from the front of the room.

Snapping your heels together and standing straight, chin raised and with your right arm across your chest with the left behind your back, you and the other trainees properly addressed the General with this stance and statement.

“Yes, General!” You and all of the trainees shouted in unison.

With that, the exam began.

In pairs, the General called the trainees names, based on the scores of the written exam; starting from the lowest grades and making his way to the highest. The first ones to face off against each other were the lowest scoring applicants, with the winner returning back to the awaiting trainees and the loser of the match being sent to stand in the back of the training room; opposite of the General.

You were positive that you’ve scored fairly high for the written exam, so you knew that you had a while before you started your first match, which gave you some time to steal several glances from across the room.

Instantly, your heart dropped and your stomach twisted up in a knot as you immediately regretted your decision to look.

Prince Noctis…he was staring right at you!

You suddenly find yourself breathless as his cerulean gaze locked onto your eyes; you barely suppress the urge to fidget under his scrutiny. After the incident in the library with Ignis, you never really saw the Crown Prince again, so with him being in the same room as you just came as an odd surprise, but what surprised you even more was the way that he looked at you.

It was almost the same look that other guys gave you whenever they tried to flirt with you; intense and lustful, yet in a subtle kind of way.

Mentally, you shook your head.

There was no way that Noctis was staring at you like that. Perhaps, the overall nervousness of him and the King being there, coupled with the final exam was messing with your head.

Yeah, you were just anxious, that’s all. You just had to pull yourself together and get your head back into the game with no distractions.

You watched as King Regis leaned over to Prince Noctis to whisper something in his ear with a smirk, which caused the raven haired teen to look away from you; finally giving you the chance to exhale a breath you didn’t realize you were holding, but also causing you to miss a huge blush that had spread across the Prince’s cheeks.

Unbeknownst to you, Ignis gave a small frustrated sigh as he watched the brief interaction between you and Prince Noctis. The 19 year old brunette’s light green eyes flashed with a hint of jealousy and annoyance, before he focused his attention back on the match that was ending; pushing up his pair of glasses with a single finger as he did.

Finally, your name was called.

It was a short match, much to everyone’s surprise. You made short work of your male opponent who seemed a bit distracted by a few of your feminine…assets. For the exam you chose to wear a simple outfit of a short black deep-‘V’ tank top, which revealed your flat, toned stomach and ample cleavage along with a pair of skin-tight, stretchy black leggings and a pair of knee-high leather boots.

Even though Cor disapproved of your choice in revealing clothing, especially while training with mostly male Crownsguard applicants, it proved to have worked to your advantage, so far. Even more so during this exam as you quickly defeated your opponents and advanced to the final round. The poor saps who faced you were now sitting towards the back of the room with several cuts and bruises.

“Amicitia…Leonis, you’re up for the final round.”

So, this was it: you against Gladiolus.

The 20 year old, tattooed dark haired male towered over you and the others in the room with his large, muscular form and looked intimidating, but you knew better.

“Well, well, well…looks like it’s the best of the best. Sure you can handle me again?” Gladio smirked as the two of you got into defensive starting positions in the middle of the training room.

You fought the urge to roll your eyes as an amused chuckle escaped you.

“You’ve fail to recall who won that last match, Gladio. Maybe I hit your head a little too hard, because the real question is if _you_ can handle _me_?” You smirked back; a playful glint shining in your eyes.

You and Gladio trained vigorously every other day with each other since you began your Crownsguard training a year ago and although he seemed like an intimating, rough kind of guy, you quickly found that he was much like a giant teddy bear; making the two of you get along so well.

“That may be true, but since today is a special occasion, let’s raise the stakes a little bit higher this time.” Gladio declared.

You shrugged nonchalantly; quite used to the wagers you and Gladio would place right before sparring each other.

“Fine, which one of my friends do you want to date this time? If it’s Crowe, she’ll want me to fight to the death before I give up her phone number to you.” You teased with a bright smile; completely unaware of how your smile dazzled the audience to your side.

Gladio chuckled and shook his head; knowing full well that your best friend had rejected Gladio in the hopes that her crush in the Kingsglaive would actually date her instead.

“No, not Crowe…I want someone better. How about you go out on a date with me instead, if I win,” Gladio said proudly; causing the observers on the side to break out in surprised murmurs. Over your shoulder, Ignis and Noctis’ eyes widened before they narrowed into an offended glare at Gladio; completely floored that Gladio had the balls to ask you out directly and in front of them, no less.

Gladio shrugged at the angered pair behind your back, but you just assumed that he was shrugging at your shocked reaction.

Needless to say, you were indeed shocked that Gladio had asked you out, especially in front of all of these people _and_ your dad, who was notorious for scaring away potential suitors of yours, but you weren’t going to back down from a challenge.

Recovering quickly from your surprised reaction and putting on a neutral face, you shrugged back.

“Alright, but I want to go to Altissia for the Moogle-Chocobo festival, if you do win. If _I_ win, you’ll have to pick up my restaurant tab for a whole week.” You countered.

Gladio’s mouth opened and shut like a fish as he tried to find the words to say.

“No. No way, not with the places you eat at! Do you know how expensive those restaurants-” Gladio started, but was interrupted by the General.

“Leonis…Amicitia! The match will commence in 3…2…1… _start_!” The General shouted from the front of the room.

As soon as the General finished shouting, Gladio came barreling towards you with his gigantic form; trying to capture the red flag at your left hip. With ease, you lithely dodged to your right and landed a hard, swift kick to the 20 year old’s ribs with your left foot; effectively earning a large grunt from him before he leapt forward to capture your flag again.

“You’ll have to do better, Gladdy.” You taunted as you swiftly back flipped away from Gladio to put some distance between yourselves.

You had an advantage here. Gladiolus was huge and muscular, but his form slowed him down and his offensive tactics often left him open for attack. You, on the other hand was as graceful and nimble as a cat; your svelte petite stature serving you well in terms of evasiveness and quick sneak attacks.

 _Piece of cake_ , you thought to yourself. The top spot of being considered as a lieutenant was going to be yours at this rate.

Cor was going to be so proud of you…

_Whoosh!_

The sound of Gladio’s fist narrowly passing your face quickly brought you back to reality as you easily dodged each of his attacks as they came, but you chose not to attack just yet.

The match wasn’t going to be quick with Gladio as you already knew from your sparring buddy, but by dodging his every assault, you knew that you could start to tire him out, which would leave him more open to you grabbing his flag.

A few more minutes of effectively dodging his attacks proved you right as you could see that he was starting to wear down a bit. Choosing the opportunity to exploit this weakness, you launched forward and feigned a grab at his flag. This caused Gladio to look down at your hand that was trying to grab it and pull back, which was what you expected him to do as you raised your foot to land a harsh kick under Gladio’s chin; knocking the large young man down on his back.

The crowd behind you visibly winced and groaned at the display of violence, but you could care less.

Now, time to get that red flag…

Suddenly, you felt a strong grip around your ankle just before you hit the floor hard on your back; knocking the air out of your lungs.

“You should’ve been paying attention, Sweetheart. I’m not giving up that easily.” Gladio’s deep, rough voice purred as he dragged you by the ankle to pull you closer to him with a lustful gleam in his brown eyes; looking like a hungry predator that finally caught its prized prey.

Nope, not today…

Leaning forward to pry Gladio’s strong hand off of your small ankle, you made skin to skin contact with his left wrist and for the first time in 3 years, you froze as your vision began to go blurry and head felt as though it was swaying on rough waters.

The training room and Gladio had rapidly disappeared in a scene of white.

“Again, Gladdy, again!” You heard a small child’s voice shout gleefully in the distance, as your vision began to restore itself.

You found yourself in a giant, sunshine filled garden and could feel the warm, springtime breeze flowing nicely through your hair as you outstretched your arms to mimic a flying bird.

“You want to go again?” A little boy’s voice from under you asked; though he was close, he sounded so far away.

 You realized that you were riding piggyback on the boy and that the first voice you heard was actually yours.

“Yes, please!” You cheerfully replied, wrapping your small arms around the boy’s neck to give him a warm hug.

“Alright, hang on tight,” He said, before he took off running through the massive, colorful garden.

You began to giggle sweetly with delight as the young, dark haired boy ran around with you on his back and laughed cheerfully along with you.

Suddenly, the boy tripped and the both of you found yourselves lying upon the grass; unharmed and laughing in a carefree way as you both started to watch the clouds in the sky.

Turning your head to look at the boy next to you, you offered him a huge grin; he looked around 10 or 11 years old.

“Can we do this every day?” You ask; your voice still sounding miles away down a tunnel.

The boy turned towards you and flashed you a big, warm smile with his brown eyes sparkling gently.

 _Gladiolus…?_ You thought to yourself in confusion as you recognized his brown gaze.

“Will it make you happy if we did?” He asked and you nodded happily; feeling as though your heart was going to burst into a million glittering stars.

“Okay, I promised to make you happy, so that’s what I’m going to do. Whatever it takes,” He declared with a smile.

But unexpectedly, the scene before you faded away.

Now, it was replaced with complete darkness.

For some odd reason, your heart was hammering in your chest and you could feel your adrenaline rushing through your system as your breathing became ragged. You didn’t understand what was going on, but you knew fear when you felt it and something bad was definitely happening.

After a few moments of silence in the darkness, you hesitantly reached out and tried to feel around. After a few moments of searching, you finally felt a door handle in front of you and pulled the piece of metal down; revealing a bit of light.

Something felt wrong…very, very wrong as you slowly opened the door.

You were in a closet of some sort, but you couldn’t remember why, you just knew that whatever was on the other side of the door was not good.

Opening up the closet’s door just a crack to peek outside, you found yourself correct in that theory.

There was a dark haired boy, lying upon the white marble floor dressed in an all white suit, yet he was covered in dark, red blood. You can see from your position that most of the blood was coming from the middle of his chest as it was profusely bleeding out, but the wound across his eye looked just as bad.

The boy gave a weak cough, before he turned his head in your direction.

 _Gladio!_ You thought in panic as you recognized the gravely wounded boy on the floor.

He made an effort to say something to you, but wound up gurgling and spluttering a lot of blood instead.

“Run,” He wheezed in between his bloodied coughs; hot tears streaming from his uninjured eye.

Although he told you to run, you found yourself frozen in fear at the sight of him; your heart aching that the boy was dying right in front of you.

You shook your head; unable to move out of sheer terror and grief for the boy.

“G-go…n-now…before they c-come b-back.” He managed to choke out, before he coughed up some more blood.

With what little strength he had left, Gladio pointed to a nearby door with his bloodied index finger, but you didn’t want to leave him there.

_What was happening? Who did this to him?_

“R-run… _run_ …” He repeated softly; his voice fading away as your eyes filled up with tears.

Once again, the scene in front of you began to blur back to white, but it was hard to tell at first because of your tears.

Blinking rapidly, past your tears you found yourself staring into a pair of anguished brown eyes, but this time it was back in the training room.

You could hear whispering all around you as people wondered why the both of you had stopped fighting, but as you began to realize what you were doing and why you were there, you reached out and gently grabbed the flag from a dazed Gladio’s side.

“Congratulations, Leonis. You are the winner of this year’s Crownsguard exam,” The General announced as the room broke out in applause; Ignis and Noctis both sighing in relief that you won instead.

But as loud as the applause was, it felt as though no one else was in the room, except for you and Gladio.

“Sorry,” You apologized sheepishly as you watched him slowly rise to his feet; knowing full well that he felt the same painful emotions as you did when you touched.

When he locked eyes with you, he stared at you in confusion and looked at his wrist.

 _Oh no, I hope he didn’t think I cheated…_ You thought guiltily.

You honestly had no idea that Gladio was involved in your past too…but you always assumed that he was raised here in Insomnia. Could it be that you were wrong?

You fought against him many times before, why did this just happen now? Actually, come to think of it…Gladio always did wear a pair of gloves up until today.

But seriously, you couldn’t stop thinking about what just happened.

That was until you felt a pair of large hands being placed on your shoulders.

“Hey, are you alright there?” Cor asked as he directed your attention away from a confused Gladio to him.

Numbly, you nodded in response; unsure of how you should feel and whether you should tell your father what just happened.

“Good. You did well today and I’m proud of you, Kid. You did so well, that His Majesty has invited you to join him and the Crown Prince for dinner tomorrow,” Cor said as he gave you a pat on the back.

Upon hearing your father’s statement, you quickly turned to look back at the King and the Prince. The King was already leaving, with Ignis and his uncle in tow. A red-faced Clarus was making his way over to Gladio and didn’t seem thrilled that his son had lost to a girl in front of so many important people.

However, for just one moment, you spotted the raven haired Prince staring back at you through the crowd around him; barely catching the small, self-satisfied smirk he wore as he turned to leave out of the room.

“Tomorrow…it’s a date,” Noctis smirked to himself.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For further updates and chapter discussions, please check out my Facebook page: https://facebook.com/SakuraAngelOfficial
> 
> ~*~*~  
> NEXT TIME:
> 
> Chapter 4: The Beginning/Prompto
> 
> Your performance during the Crownsguard final exam has earned you an invitation to dine alone with King Regis and Prince Noctis.
> 
> However, it seems that a few jealous uninvited guests want to join you as well. At least during the uncomfortable dinner, you take solace in a cheerful, yet awkward blonde named Prompto.
> 
> That is, until you both reach for the salt shaker at the same time...


	4. The Beginning/Prompto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your performance during the Crownsguard final exam has earned you an invitation to dine alone with King Regis and Prince Noctis.
> 
> However, it seems that a few jealous uninvited guests want to join you as well. At least during the uncomfortable dinner, you take solace in a cheerful, yet awkward blonde named Prompto.
> 
> That is, until you both reach for the salt shaker at the same time...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Lovelies~! 
> 
> Thanks again for leaving such awesome comments and kudos! You are all amazing! 
> 
> To celebrate, I've written this huge chapter just for you! Thank you so much for your support and happy reading!

**Chapter 4:** _The Beginning/Prompto_

~*~*~

_DURING THE CROWNSGUARD EXAM_

“Is that her, Noctis?” King Regis asked as he watched a beautiful, svelte young lady donned in all black stand from across him; paying attention to the General's instructions for the final exam.

Noctis nodded discreetly as he didn’t want anyone to suspect what they were talking about; but the raven haired Prince suspected that his future advisor knew why they were here in the first place.

“She’s grown up well, but it seems as though you are not the only one who is interested in her,” Regis says as he subtly gestured towards the males standing around the young lady; also staring at her.

However, Noct was a bit too preoccupied with another competitor; flashing Ignis a warning glare as he noticed the brunette was also watching her. Ignis merely raised an eyebrow; almost as if he was issuing his own challenge against the Prince.

“Believe me, I know.” Noctis replied flatly as he turned his attention away from Ignis.

Smiling, King Regis leaned next to the Crownsguard Marshal and began to whisper in his ear.

“It seems that my son has taken an interest in your daughter, Cor.” Regis explained.

Cor’s blue eyes widened at his King’s statement, before he glanced over to look at the Crown Prince; finding the young Prince engrossed in staring at the teenaged girl.

The Marshal then folded his arms defensively, as a muscle in his jaw visibly tightened and one of his light brown eyebrows twitched in annoyance.

“Is that so, Your Majesty?” Cor replied tensely, but Regis merely chuckled; knowing by now that his old friend was highly protective of his young daughter.

“Yes, I believe so. At this rate, it is safe to assume that we may be sharing a grandchild together.” Regis implied with a small smile; knowing that he was pushing Cor’s buttons, but not enough to send the Marshal over the edge yet.

Cor ran an anxious hand through his short, buzz-cut hair and exhaled shakily.

He knew that there would be a day where he would have to allow his daughter to date potential suitors, but Cor never thought that it would be the Crown Prince that would try to court her. What made it even more difficult was that the King himself was aware of the Prince’s interest, so there was no way that Cor could pull Noctis off to the side and tell the raven haired teen to back off, as he did with his other daughter’s suitors.

So, the Marshal had no choice in the matter but to oblige in the Prince’s request for courting his daughter, even if he didn’t want to.

“Sure, as long as he treats her well, then it’s fine by me,” Cor gave in hesitantly with a heavy sigh, as he eyed Noctis apprehensively.

Regis smiled warmly in return, knowing that Cor didn’t trust anyone of the opposite sex being alone with his beloved daughter. Mentally chuckling as he thought about how much the Marshal had changed since his daughter came into his life. Cor was practically the definition of an overprotective dad, though the stubborn, light haired brunette didn’t want to admit it.

“Good,” King Regis replied, before turning to look back at his son; noting that the young woman was now staring back at him.

Casually, Regis leaned over to his son and began to speak to him in a low voice.

“I believe that she is _more_ than aware that you are staring at her now, son.” The King smirked, causing his son to look away from the girl; a huge blush spreading across Noctis’ face from the embarrassment of being caught.

The beautiful, sixteen year old girl exhaled in relief as she also focused on looking elsewhere.

“This courting will most certainly prove to be interesting, don’t you think, old friend?” Regis asked as he glanced from Noctis to the young lady across from them.

Cor massage the bridge of his nose, using his index finger and thumb; feeling a headache coming on.

“Yeah…real interesting, Your Majesty.”

~*~*~

_THE NEXT DAY_

“No...”

“Absolutely not…”

“Not a chance in hell…”

“Have you been leaving the house dressed like this, young lady?” Cor finally snapped as you tilted your head back and sighed exasperatedly.

“Dad, this is the millionth dress that I’ve tried on. At least pick one,” You huffed in annoyance as you crossed your arms and glared at the man sitting on your bed next to an expensive pile of already worn designer dresses.

Cor simply returned your glare as he eyed your tight revealing, red dress.

“At this rate, we might as well go out and buy you a new, _appropriate_ dress. You’re not going to go eat dinner with the King and the Prince dressed in club-wear,” Cor reproached.

Running a frustrated hand through your hair, a habit you picked up from father, you sighed again and made your way to the closet; picking up the last dress to try on.

“Just one more dress. If you don’t like it, then we’ll go out and buy a new one, okay?” You said as you headed back into your private bathroom, but not before you saw Cor irritably throw his hands up.

A few moments later, you emerged from the bathroom donned in the last dress in your closet.

It was a classy, black mermaid-style cocktail dress that was so long, that it reached the top of your ankles and fanned out in a small, sheer train behind you. It had wide straps that were pinched with glimmering gold brooches on your shoulder and had a deep neckline as well as backline that tastefully showed off your assets without revealing too much, but just enough for one to use their imagination.

For a moment, Cor said nothing as he scrutinized the dress, occasionally making a motion for you to turn around here and there. However, after the moment was up, the Marshal sighed and nodded in approval.

“Much better. Now hurry up and get ready, we have to be there in 2 hours. And don’t bother putting those dresses back in your closet; I’m burning them when we get back home.” Cor said before he rose off your bed and left your room.

 ~*~*~

A couple of hours later, you and your father were walking arm-in-arm inside of the castle, being led by one of the palace’s staff members to the dining room. Luckily, you didn’t have to attend this dinner alone as the Marshal was also invited to attend, but still you couldn’t help but to feel nervous.

“Relax, Kiddo. You’ll do fine. This is just like any other formal dinner. Just remember your etiquette and mind your manners,” Cor assured you as the pair of you followed the male staff member down the gigantic, black and white marble floor hallway.

“Right,” You nodded as took a deep, calming breath.

This was just a normal dinner…nothing to it. Well, except that it was a private dinner with the King of Lucis and his son the Crown Prince.

“This is the dining hall,” The male staff member announced to the both of you as all of you approached a large black door with gold trim.

Suddenly, your stomach felt as though it was being twisted into a tight knot and you lost the appetite to eat anymore; feeling really anxious now.

Subtly, you lean closer to your father and began to whisper.

“Can’t we just go home?” You whined quietly as you rubbed your churning stomach, watching as he shook his head.

“Don’t you think it’s a little too late to fake being sick?” Cor frowned as the attendant knocked on the door and announced you and your father’s arrival.

Oh no. No, no, _no_ …

You were not ready for this…you were _definitely_ **not** ready for this!

Sure, excelling in fighting and academics were a breeze as those things came naturally to you, but when it came to interacting with aristocrats, you often avoided it as there were too many rules in the upper class society to adhere to. While most of them did not mind your inexperience with interacting with them, there were a few who took the social class and its rules _way_ too seriously.

Feeling a bit dizzy, your grip on the Marshal became a little bit tighter; causing the middle aged brunette to look down at you.

“Please tell me that you are not going to pass out, Kid. Get your head back in the game and focus,” Cor hissed behind gritted teeth as the door opened; revealing the dining room inside.

You threw him a pleading look, slightly resisting against his arm as the Marshal helped to lead (well, more like dragged) you inside.

“Ah, Marshal…Lieutenant, so great that you could join us this evening.” King Regis greeted pleasantly from his seat at the head of the table.

Just as you entered into the room, Prince Noctis, who was sitting at the opposite end of the long mahogany table, rose from his seat and offered you a small bow to you and your father; in which you both returned to the two royals.

Gracefully, Prince Noctis made his way over to you and your father before he offered you his arm. Hesitantly, you hooked your arm around his and allowed him to escort you to your seat at the table, but not before casting a worried look over your shoulder to the Marshal who followed right behind you.

You were freaking out.

Yes, you were definitely in _total_ panic mode and there was _nothing_ you could do about it, especially now that you were in the presence of the King and Prince Noctis.

You weren’t sure what you were going to do…maybe you were going to vomit…perhaps, pass out. Hell, you really wanted to bolt out of the door and never look back again, but you couldn’t.

Instead, you allowed the Crown Prince to lead you to your seat. However, the raven haired teen must have sensed that you were nervous as he soothingly rubbed your arm.

“You look really nice tonight,” Noctis murmured huskily into your ear; causing a delightful chill to run down your spine.

Smiling nervously and fighting the urge to vomit from your anxiety, you nodded in return.

“Thank you,” You said in a small, quiet voice with a slight blush as he pulled out your chair before you gracefully sat down.

 _Stop freaking out…stop freaking out…_ You repeated in your head like a mantra, in an effort to calm down.

Surely, the Prince was just being nice by complimenting you. Yeah, that was it…

I mean, what else could it be? It’s not like this was an actual date.

You were here because you earned your position as the new Lieutenant in the Crownsguard and the King wanted to congratulate you. That was all…

Meanwhile, as Noctis headed back to his seat, he discreetly flexed his hands and screwed his eyes shut; silently praying to the Six.

You were so close and you had smelled so amazing to him…and man, _that_ _dress_. The deep plunge in the neckline and backline was really tantalizing, especially from the back as the open part of the dress stopped right at your lower back; revealing the pair of dimples that resided there.

Oh how he had wished he could just grab that nice, firm ass and take you back upstairs to his bed.

But Noctis knew that he had to be patient. You weren’t like most girls and he knew for a fact that you easily rejected suitors if they got too close for comfort, regardless of that suitor’s social status.

And he really, _really_ didn’t want to be rejected by you of all people...

That would just crush his damned soul.

“That was quite an extraordinary performance at the final exam yesterday, Lieutenant. I had no idea until recently that you had great fighting skill, but then again I am positive that your father has helped to train you with such techniques.” King Regis said to you as Cor took a seat directly to your right; sitting between you and the King.

Plastering a small smile on your face, although you were still nervous, you politely addressed the King.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” You replied humbly with a respectful bow in your chair; keeping your eyes forward on the table setting in front of you as you anxiously wrung your hands together underneath the table.

“Please, Lieutenant. There’s no need to be shy. I’m sure that you are more than aware that your father and I have been friends for a very long time, so you have nothing to be afraid of, my dear.” King Regis said warmly.

“Umm yes, Your Majesty,” You replied respectfully, although your voice still sounded a bit timid.

Off to your left, at the other end of the table, Noctis smiled dreamily to himself as he gazed at you; almost as though he was in a dream like trance. However, he stopped abruptly when King Regis discreetly gestured for his son to start engaging in conversation with you.

Regis was going to do the best he could to help his poor, lovesick son in this situation. It was extremely rare that Noctis ever expressed any romantic interest in another person, whether it was male or female. But when the Prince confessed that he was tired of seeing all of the guys flirting with Cor’s daughter and how his jealousy drove him to the brink of insanity most days, Regis understood what his son was going through.

Especially, considering that this was Noctis’ first love. It seemed as though the Prince had fallen for the new Lieutenant ever since the day they’ve met.

However, Regis knew there was another reason behind it and that Noctis had loved her _long_ before his mother’s funeral, even though the Prince couldn’t remember it.

 _If only you knew the truth, my son. You were destined for each other since the day you were born…_ Regis thought to himself as he glanced from the young lady to his son.

The King was one of the few people in the world that knew the entire truth of what happened in Palladia several years ago and had ordered for those directly involved to have their memories wiped regarding the circumstance. It was a very tough decision, but it helped to protect the ones whose lives had to be preserved for the upmost importance.

It was a small sacrifice, but luckily the memory loss did not seem to affect their feelings for each other; which was what Regis was initially afraid of accidentally destroying.

“So…I guess you’re graduating high school soon,” Noctis stated in a conversational tone to you; secretly captivated by the way you were chewing on your red painted, plump bottom lip.

“O-oh…umm yes, Your Highness. I will be graduating in a few weeks from now,” You answered quietly; keeping your answer short as you were not entirely sure if you trust yourself to speak to someone of such a high rank.

Cor fought the urge to roll his eyes and give himself a face-palm. The Marshal knew that you had no problem in conversing with others. Hell, you were a _lot_ better at holding interesting and polite conversation than he was and the Marshal lived here longer than you. But Cor also knew that whenever you found out about a person’s title or their role in the Insomnian hierarchy, you would over-think things.

He thought it would be a lot better if you attended dinner with the King, who was a longtime friend and his son, as you’ve already known them. But apparently he was wrong…

Cor wasn’t entirely sure that if he told you that this was a supervised date, rather than just a dinner, if it would’ve made matters worse.

To the Marshal, you were a nervous wreck, ready to fall apart. But to the Prince and the King, you seemed perfectly fine and poised, if not just a tad bit shy around them.

With a bit of more light conversation, mainly general questions regarding your personal life, you began to find your comfort zone in speaking to the pair of royals; just in time as the first appetizers arrived to the table. However, you were still so anxious that you hadn’t regained your appetite.

“Is there something wrong?” Noctis asked as he noticed that you stared at your plate for a moment.

It looked delicious…it really did, but your stomach was still doing somersaults and you didn’t trust yourself not to vomit.

Smiling weakly, you shook your head at the Crown Prince.

“N-no, Your Highness. J-just thinking about h-homework,” You lied shakily, hoping that he wouldn’t press the matter as you grabbed a small fork and took some of the caviar topped canapé.

Noctis raised a concerned eyebrow; sensing that something was wrong.

“You know…you don’t have to eat that, if you don’t want to.” He said in a lowered voice as he offered you a small, sympathetic smile.

 Your heart skipped a beat as you locked your eyes with his cerulean ones.

“No it’s fine really, Your Highness.” You replied a bit breathlessly as you turned back to focus on your plate; a huge blush spreading across your face as you noticed how handsome Noctis really looked from this proximity.

Unexpectedly, you felt a large hand rubbing your back in a soothing manner and you immediately looked to your right.

“I’m afraid that my daughter here is a bit nervous, Your Highness. Though she’s pretty good at everything, she’s not quite accustomed to formal events. I hope you understand,” Cor explained in an apologetic manner.

Oh how you wished that you could just die right now! As if it wasn’t embarrassing enough that you were secretly freaking out, but now your father had to go and explain what you were trying your best to cover up.

King Regis raised an eyebrow.

“Is that so, my dear? Well, then I suppose that my son should ask you out more often to remedy that,” Regis chuckled kindly; slightly tipping his wine glass in the direction of the Crown Prince before he took a sip.

Noctis choked a bit at his father’s statement, before he covered it up with a small cough and a slight clearing of his throat; feeling his face going red.

“Uh, yeah… I suppose I should, huh?” Noctis responded hesitantly as he rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly.

Wait…were they suggesting what you _think_ they were suggesting?

Noctis asking her out…was that what they really meant? Or were they just simply joking around? Your heart skipped another beat at the very thought of the Prince asking you out, though.

It was then everyone in the dining room heard commotion outside of a door. It was not the huge main door that you and your father had entered, but rather a much smaller, average sized version of it right behind the Prince. It sounded like an argument of some sort, but it was hard to tell as the voices were muffled from this side of the room.

“What the hell…?” Noctis uttered confusedly as he slowly rose to his feet and looked behind him.

Instantly, you and Cor jumped to your feet; going into defense mode as the door suddenly opened.

Running out with their heads ducked as a plump, old woman dressed in a maid’s uniform attacked them with a broom as she chased after them, Gladio, Ignis and a short blonde haired boy stumbled into the dining room.

“Eavesdroppers…!” The old woman yelled as she whacked Gladio hard upside of his head with her broom.

“Hey will you knock it off, Ophelia!” Gladio snapped back; earning him another hit to the head.

Noctis folded his arms; not amused at his friends’ antics.

“Seriously, guys? Are you trying to ruin our dinner?” Noctis growled as he angrily eyed his three friends.

Ignis was the first to apologize, as he offered everyone in the room a low, apologetic bow.

“My apologies, Your Majesty and Your Highness. I was just going to escort them home,” Ignis said calmly.

The blonde haired teen began to laugh nervously and offered everyone a bow as well.

“Uhh…y-yeah, we were just l-leaving!” The blonde squeaked as he anxiously rubbed the back of his head.

You couldn’t help the amused giggle that escaped your lips as you watched Gladio’s large form trying to defend himself from the broom-wielding maid; your lighthearted giggle easily catching the attention of the males in the room.

Biting your lip to prevent from outright laughing, you gave a low, apologetic bow as well.

“Forgive me,” You said embarrassedly as you quietly sat back down in your seat; once again starting up the habit of wringing your hands underneath the tablecloth.

King Regis simply offered another warm smile.

“No need to apologize, my dear. Ophelia, thank you for your service…you may leave, now. Gentlemen, would you care to join us for dinner?” The King asked as he gestured to the table.

Noctis spun around and gave his father a look of disbelief.

“Dad, you’re kidding right?” The Prince asked; slightly mortified.

“Noct, they are practically your brothers, so they’re welcomed to join us anytime. As long as our guests do not mind,” King Regis said as he turned to look at you and Cor.

Cor shrugged.

“It’s fine by me.” The Marshal replied before he took a drink from his wine glass.

You nodded obediently; mimicking your dad.

“Y-yes, the more the merrier I suppose, Your Majesty.” You answered; completely unaware how fast Noctis’ temper was rising.

Swiftly, Noctis turned on his heel and glared at his three friends, who were like brothers to him.

“ _Go home or you’re dead!_ ” Noctis hissed at them; just low enough for the trio to hear.

The only one affected by the Prince’s threat was the blonde, who threw his hands up defensively and tried to exit out of the room, until Gladio caught the boy by his collar. Gladio simply shrugged off the threat, while Ignis wore a small, amused smirk as he pushed up his glasses.

“Of course, Your Majesty. As long as we have your permission to join you,” Ignis said respectfully; but with a glint of mischief in his eye as he glanced over to Noctis.

Noctis looked as though he was going to strangle each of them as he knew Gladio and Ignis were up to something.

As the three guys made their way to the table, the blonde was quick enough to sit next to you on your left, before Gladio and Ignis had the chance to; forcing the pair to sit opposite of you and your father.

You offered a polite greeting and an introduction to the blonde, who introduced himself as Prompto. The young man was very funny, albeit awkward, but you were fine with it as he made you more comfortable with being in the same room as the pair of royals. As the two of you engaged in further, delightful conversation, you were unaware that the three young men were now glaring at their young friend.

“Should’ve just let him go home…” Gladio muttered irritably under his breath as he noticed how well you were getting along with Prompto.

“This is unexpected, but I suppose it’s her natural charm.” Ignis murmured back petulantly; his eyebrow twitching.

“This is all your fault.” Noctis mumbled snidely; glaring pointedly at his two so-called “friends”, before shooting his father a dirty look.

The King smiled wryly as he caught the look that his son threw him; finally understanding why Noctis didn’t want his friends there in the first place.

“Seems as though your charming daughter has captured more than one heart, Cor.” King Regis said in a low voice to the Marshal.

Cor frowned as he turned his attention away from you to look at the other young men across the table; noting the looks of envy on their faces.

“Unfortunately, there aren’t enough brooms in the world to beat them with, so I can chase them away.” The Marshal complained.

For you, dinner went by smoothly ever since Prompto joined the table and engaged you in conversation. In fact, you had almost forgotten why you were here until Gladio had mentioned the final exam that occurred yesterday. Like you, Prompto was a nervous wreck when it came to attending formal dinners, but he had no knowledge of proper etiquette when it came to these events. So throughout the dinner, you showed him which eating utensils he should use for each dish that was brought out and explained to him the many rules of a formal palace occasion.

“Wow, you explain things so much better than Ignis. Oh, sorry Iggy. No offense!” Prompto said with a wince; noticing the look of annoyance in his brunette friend’s eyes, but not knowing that it was because he had been conversing with you all night.

You silently regarded Ignis at that moment.

For three years, you had been avoiding him. You always see him, but you never really _looked_ at him since that day in the library.

Those three years had changed him from an average build to a much more toned, yet lean athletic form, you’ve noticed as he was wearing a snug, striped buttoned down shirt with his sleeves rolled up. His face lost its round, boyish look and was now more pronounced with a firm and nicely angled jaw-line. Even his hairstyle had changed from a simple, neatly trimmed haircut to a more stylish, sexed up hairdo with the use of hair-gel.

You always thought of Ignis as an annoying little boy who constantly meddled into your affairs, but now after these few years of puberty blessing him with good looks, you couldn’t help but to find that the brunette was indeed attractive.

You didn’t realize that you were staring at him for a long time, until Prompto had called your name and snapped you out of your reverie; becoming aware of the sexy smirk that slowly played across his lips.

Noctis and Gladio were silently infuriated as they had watched you check Ignis out, which had caused them to redirect their murderous glare from Prompto to the now smugly grinning brunette.

 _Well, I guess she likes what she sees now…_ Ignis noted to himself; grateful that these past few years of doing weapons training with Gladio was paying off in other ways.

When dessert finally came around, it happened once again.

You were contentedly eating your frozen confection when you were explaining to Prompto about the proper syrup ratio one should use when it came to this type of dessert. As he reached for the berry flavored syrup that was placed between both of your plates, his hand accidentally knocked over the salt shaker. Since it was knocked closer to your side, you decided to reach for it, but Prompto, being the sweet gentleman that he was, got to it first.

You were going to gently tap his hand to show him where to place it again on the table, but instead you wound up touching his wrist.

 _Oh no…_ You thought as your vision began to blur once again; distorting your vision of the dining hall as your head felt as though it was swaying.

Vaguely, you could hear a concerned Prompto call your name and asking if you were alright, but before you could respond, your vision was covered in all white.

“It’s okay. Don’t be afraid…” A young boy’s voice said soothingly off in the distance.

Slowly, your vision started to restore itself as the scene in front of you became clearer.

It was another sunny day and you were in a garden, but this time the garden looked different than the last one and felt really familiar to you.

There was a plump, blonde haired boy that stood some distance from you upon the green, freshly cut grass. He looked about 8 years old and was standing there holding the reins of a rather large yellow chocobo. Despite the bird looking harmless overall, you still felt very intimidated by it.

“Trust me, he won’t bite. I own five more of them back home and they’re all really gentle.” The boy assured with a familiar, cheerful smile.

 _Prompto…?_ You wondered to yourself as you slowly walked over to the blonde; eyeing the large bird uneasily.

Soon enough, you found yourself standing directly in front of the yellow chocobo as Prompto demonstrated to you on how to pet it properly.

“But what if he doesn’t like me, Prom?” Your seven year old self asked as you reached out to pet it.

To your surprise, the large feathered creature nuzzled its head into your small hand; enjoying the attention and affection it was receiving. You gasped in delight at the creature and turned to Prompto who was grinning.

The round, little blonde then held out his hand for you, keeping his other hand gripping on the rein.

“Take my hand. I’ll show you how to ride a chocobo, before my parents come back.” Prompto said excitedly as he grabbed your hand.

But as he touched your hand, your vision suddenly went black, just as it did last time…

“Come on, don’t let go!” A voice echoed in the darkness.

You were running…running as fast as you possibly could as you could feel two people holding you tightly by each of your hands.

Your heart was hammering loudly against your chest as you struggled to gasp for air in the darkness and you could hear people screaming all around you as a loud explosion sounded off close by; causing your hearing to go out, but return quickly with a loud ringing in your ear.

You were terrified, so terrified…but you had to keep running.

What was going on? It sounded like you were in a war zone…

If only you could see what was happening.

Then it occurred to you; your eyes were closed by your own free will.

Slowly and fearfully, you opened your eyes.

 _Gladio_ …? The eleven year old boy dressed in a white suit was leading you with your right hand, down a beautiful, polished white marbled floor hallway.

As you looked behind you to see who held your other hand, you saw a similarly dressed Prompto, who was struggling greatly to keep up with you two, yet he was still holding onto your small hand.

Suddenly, a large crash behind the three of you could be heard and with your rapidly beating heart going into overdrive from your adrenaline, you dared to look over your shoulder to see its source.

Emerging from the dust of the wall it had crashed through, your eyes widened in horror as a robotic soldier covered in blood scanned the area, before it locked its sight on the three of you; running swiftly to catch up with you with its large swords drawn.

You screamed shrilly at the sight, which caused Gladio and Prompto to look over their shoulders too.

“Come on, keep running!” Gladio’s panicked voiced yelled as he tugged your small hand harder; increasing his speed.

But as the eleven year old pulled your hand to keep up with him, the sweaty grip that you held on Prompto’s hand slipped without warning.

Immediately, you looked back to reach for the blonde…

But just as you turned to look back, your face was instantly splattered with something wet and warm.

Blood.

Everything felt as though it was going in slow motion now, as you watched in horror as the Magitek soldier brutally sliced into Prompto’s back, cutting the young boy down to the floor; continuously slashing at him, while staining your beautiful white dress with blood splatters as it did.

You didn’t realize that you had let Gladio’s hand go to stand in terror, until the older boy appeared in front of you and grabbed you by the hand again. You could feel Gladio dragging you away from there, but you couldn’t take your eyes off of Prompto’s lifeless, bloodied body right behind you.

Tears started to fall from your eyes as it dawned on you that your blonde haired friend was now dead.

Slowly, your vision began to blur again and the vision of white disappeared; returning you back to the dining hall.

You could hear everything more clearly now.

The Marshal was now kneeling by your side, calling your name repeatedly and was lightly patting your tear-stained cheeks in an effort to snap you back into reality and out of the trance you had gone into. Cor had already taken your hand off of Prompto’s wrist in an effort to stop the trance and thanks to this, you were now returning back to the present.

Visibly trembling, you gasped for air as though you had ran a marathon and started to sob; Cor pulling you into an embrace as you cried.

You weren’t aware that everyone else in the room was now standing around you in concern, until you tried to leave your seat to get some fresh air. When they tried to offer their assistance, you brushed it off and broke away from the men in the dining hall; heading out to the castle’s gardens to get some breathing room and space.

Noctis began to follow you outside, but stopped as he turned to look at the source of what caused your breakdown.

“What did you do to her, Prompto?” Noctis demanded with a hard look; but his expression softened as he saw Prompto’s still seated form.

Clutching his heart as he slowly looked back up at his alarmed best friends; tears were streaming down his face.

“I-I don’t know…I don’t really know…” Prompto replied hoarsely.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For further updates and chapter discussions, please check out my Facebook page: https://facebook.com/SakuraAngelOfficial
> 
> QUICK NOTE: It'll be about a week before I update this story again as I have a busy work week up ahead, but no worries, you'll be seeing your beloved Chocobros soon!
> 
> Just remember to subscribe to this story, so that you'll be the first to know when the new chapter releases! Thanks again for the support, Lovelies!
> 
> See you soon! <3
> 
> ~*~*~  
> NEXT TIME:
> 
> Chapter 5: Kisses After Dark
> 
> In an effort to comfort you after your breakdown at the dinner, Noctis, Ignis, Gladiolus and Prompto all set out to find you in the palace.
> 
> But the type of comfort you need isn't just kind words...and the four guys seem to understand this silent demand.


	5. Kisses After Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In an effort to comfort you after your breakdown at the dinner, Noctis, Ignis, Gladiolus and Prompto all set out to find you in the palace.
> 
> But the type of comfort you need isn't just kind words...and the four guys seem to understand this silent demand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day, Lovelies~! <3
> 
> Thank you so much for the Kudos and comments~! I definitely feel the love!
> 
> I have missed you readers so much! Between working my job and having a broken laptop, I have been desperately trying to finish this chapter to get it to you. (T_T)
> 
> So, here it is at last~! I hope you enjoy it! <3

**Chapter 5:** _Kisses After Dark_

~*~*~

The night was dark and the air was chilly as the partly cloudy sky was littered with twinkling stars above, but you hardly noticed the natural serene beauty of it all as you stumbled out into the castle’s lush, colorful garden; hunching over as you desperately gasped for some much needed air.

 _Prompto…I watched him_ **die** _. He was killed…but how is it that he’s still alive?_ You thought with wide, horror-stricken eyes.

There was no way that an eight year old child could have ever survived such a vicious and direct, unrelenting attack by an Imperial M.T.

There was just _no_ way.

It literally made no sense.

Was it just an illusion then? Even if it was, everything about that brutal scene felt so _real_.

The intense emotions, the frantic running, the adrenaline rush, even feeling the warm blood splattering across you…

Shakily, you reached up to touch your face; testing to see if _you_ were still real at this point.

What was really going on and why was it that only you could see it?

It was very overwhelming.

Between the visions and emotions that came with them, nothing seemed to make sense anymore.

You began to wonder if this unspeakable horror was what drove you to insanity when you were seven years old in the first place. If so, then it was highly understandable.

You were merely just a child back then and you had witnessed the terrible event in its entirety; somehow managing to hang on during its unfolding. However, as a teenager, you were just getting small glimpses of what had already happened and could barely handle the memories…

Suddenly, you heard your name being called softly.

Slowly, you raised yourself from your hunched over form and turned your head towards the direction you heard your name being called from; watching with bated breath as you saw the Crown Prince emerge from behind a large rose bush.

“Hey, are you alright?” Noctis asked hesitantly as he approached you carefully with a concerned look upon his face.

Without knowing it, you fearfully and shakily took a step back; causing the raven haired male to stop in his tracks.

“I-I’m fine. Just needed some fresh air, that’s all, Your Highness. Is your friend alright?” You murmured.

Noctis gave a heavy sigh and nodded.

“Prompto’s fine...everyone’s checking on him. Listen, you don’t have to call me that you know? We’ve known each other for a while, so there’s no need to act so formal around me, especially when we’re alone together,” Noctis said casually as he tried to carefully approach you again.

Once again, you find yourself taking another anxious step back in your high heels as he stepped forward.

The Crown Prince paused again as he noticed that you were watching him warily; almost as if he were going to harm you.

“What? What’s wrong?” Noctis asked hesitantly; concern heavily laced in his voice.

You shook your head and offered the Prince a small, forced smile.

“Forgive me, but I’ve meant you no disrespect by calling you by your title. There’s nothing wrong, it was just an anxiety attack. I’m sorry that I’ve ruined dinner tonight, I should’ve stayed home instead.” You stated quietly with another bow.

Noctis huffed in annoyance and rolled his eyes; running a hand through his raven hair in frustration, before you met his gaze again.

“Hey, don’t say that. I was really glad that you came here tonight and I really enjoyed your company, despite my friends crashing the dinner. Your panic attack didn’t ruin a thing, so it’s nothing to stress about. Things happen,” Noctis tried to reassure you with a casual shrug.

“Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness. I should head home now. Formal settings really aren’t my thing, I suppose. And this just proves it,” You said as you turned on your heels to leave the garden.

Behind your back, Noct visibly struggled to find the words to say to you as he nervously scratched the back of his head and exhaled shakily as he gathered the courage to speak.

“…Then perhaps, I should take you out on a real date next time. Just the two of us. You can pick a place that makes you comfortable,” Noctis said bravely; causing you to freeze in your tracks.

Your heart skipped several beats as his words registered into your mind.

Just as you had managed to regain a steady breathing pattern, you found yourself struggling to breathe again, but this time it wasn’t out of fear. Hesitantly, you turned around and your surprised gaze met the Prince’s unwavering cerulean one.

As Noctis stood there waiting for some sort of response, you struggled to find your voice as your mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

“… _Me?_ ” You finally managed to say after a moment of struggling; your eyebrow raised in surprised.

Noctis gave an amused chuckle at your lack of words and your surprised reaction.

“What, you can’t really be that surprised? Guys ask you out all the time, so this shouldn’t be all that different.” Noctis joked as he gave a small, sly smirk at you. That devious, little smile made a large, deep blush appear across your face and made you swoon internally at the sight.

Surely, you were dreaming right?

Maybe you had passed out and hit your head back at the table after touching Prompto’s wrist…?

Yeah, that must be it. Because there was no way in hell that the Crown Prince of Lucis had just asked _you_ of all people out on a date…

“You want to date… _me?_ You mean like an actual _date_?” You questioned in disbelief as Noct slowly approached you.

“Yeah. You know, like a dinner, a movie…maybe we could just hang out and talk or something. That is… if you want to, I mean.” He clarified; stopping right in front of you while still wearing that half smile.

Whoa. The Crown Prince of Lucis _did_ just ask you out on a date.

It was such an incredible feeling that had replaced the feelings of fear, confusion and sadness from before. It felt as though your heart was beating a million miles per hour and was going to burst out of your chest from his statement.

You felt so amazingly happy…yet…

This was too good to be true.

Even if the Crown Prince did like you right now and chose to date you, he would surely see how incredibly flawed you were, just as he saw back at the dinner table. Sure, you were pretty, but because of these random memories returning, you were also emotionally and mentally unstable. Who knew when you would have another incident like you did with Prompto, Ignis and Gladio? Once he would see how flawed you were, he would leave you in an instant, like any other sane person would do.

Just as quickly as your happiness came, heartbreaking sorrow soon filled its place as a sudden realization came to mind.

You could never truly be with anyone, especially the Prince.

He deserved someone much better, more mentally stable with noble blood, preferably.

You were just a commoner and a half-outsider, on top of that. Your instability would certainly be the cherry on top of your disqualification for being involved with Prince Noctis.

Giving him a faltering, pitiful smile, you finally addressed Noctis.

“Thank you…really, I mean it. However, I’m not worthy of your courtship, Your Highness. Perhaps, one day you will find another who is more suitable than I am. But I thank you for the offer,” You said quietly as you lowered your eyes once more and turned to leave.

However, as you turned back around, Prince Noctis firmly grabbed your hand.

Glancing over your shoulder, you take a look at his expression and determined that it was unreadable as his head was lowered and some of his bangs covered his eyes.

“I don’t want anyone else…” Noctis started in a low, sultry voice.

You barely stifled a gasp from leaving your lips as Noctis firmly tugged your hand to pull you against his firm chest.

“I want _you._ ” He finished.

Without warning, his warm, soft lips suddenly pressed against yours.

Your eyes flew open in surprised as you watched the Crown Prince kiss you with closed eyes. He was kissing you gently; almost carefully as if you were a precious and scared animal that would flee at a moment’s notice. It was a sweet and heartwarming chaste kiss, but as light and as pure as it felt physically, you could also sense the desire behind it; as if he was holding back.

Slowly, you close your eyes; savoring the gentle kiss and lightly pressing back against Noctis’ lips to reciprocate it just as his arm wrapped around your waist and his hand found your lower back.

So, this was your first kiss.

You never really gave much thought about how your first kiss would go, or who it would be with, but even now it was hard to believe that you were standing there kissing the Crown Prince of all people.

Noctis smirked against your lips in quiet triumph; his heart practically soaring out his chest as you returned his kiss.

So, he finally did it.

He finally gathered the courage to ask the girl of his dreams out and was sharing his first kiss with her. Oh, how he had desperately longed for this day.

Sure, dinner could have gone more smoothly, but if he knew that it was going to end with him kissing you, then Noctis would gladly go through an awkward dinner again just to be this way with you. He had to stop from pinching himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming about you again, but this time Noctis was certain that he wasn’t dreaming as he could taste the sweetness of your dessert lingering on your plump, red painted lips.

This intimate moment with you, was beyond perfect to him.

This was pure heaven and this was just only from _kissing_ you. Noct could only imagine that he may die from sheer bliss whenever the two of you decided to take the relationship to an even more intimate level.

Suddenly, you pulled away from the kiss and it took every ounce in Noct’s being to not whine from the unexpected loss of contact.

Timidly, you backed away; rubbing your arm uneasily as you took a step back from the perplexed, raven haired Prince.

“I-I’m sorry, but I’m not the one for you, Your Highness. I’m way too messed up and it wouldn’t be right to drag you down with me.” You managed to say; avoiding Noctis’ heated gaze as you tried to leave.

However, just as you turned to leave Noctis once again, he grabbed your arm.

At least, that was what he had meant to do, but you knew he had touched your wrist as your vision began to blur and fade into white; the swaying sensation returning to your body once more.

“Come on…” You heard a little girl whine in the distance as your vision started to gradually become clearer.

“I don’t wanna…” Replied a little boy’s voice in a sleepy voice.

As your vision cleared, you found yourself in a vaguely familiar, mostly white painted nursery. It was filled with lavish white furnishings that had either shimmering gold colored or wooden accents, the decorations were either white porcelain or gold and massive windows to your side had silken gold curtains that were tied with white tassels; making the playroom look as though it had belonged to a billionaire adult, not a child.

As you stopped looking around, you noticed that you were wearing a frilly, soft pink dress and were on top of an expensive looking, highly polished wooden floor; kneeling next to an eight year old raven haired boy dressed in casual black clothing that was sprawled out exhaustedly on the floor.

Placing your small hands on your hips and huffing in frustration, your seven year old self pouted.

“Why don’t you want to play with me, Noct? You just got here,” You whined as you felt your face going red; your voice sounding like it was in the distance rather than where you were kneeling.

“Because it’s nap time and it took my family forever to travel here. Travelling is tiring…” Noct mumbled as he tried to drift off to sleep with closed eyes.

 _Prince Noctis? I knew him already?_ You wondered incredulously to yourself.

How did such a detail escape you? Surely, you would’ve remembered someone as important as the Crown Prince, especially if you two were so close that you spoke informally to him…

But then again, you couldn’t seem to remember your own mother and what she looked like before the attack…

Still pouting, you leaned over and poked his boyish, round cheek with your index finger.

“Come on…” You griped as you watched him roll over to his side; facing away from you.

“Mmm…later…” Noctis mumbled as he scooted away from you. You crawled closer to his side and shook the slightly older boy to wake him up, but it was to no avail.

Feeling a temper tantrum about to rise in your small form, you tightly folded your arms across your chest and glared at the raven haired boy; trying to devise a way to wake up this sleepyhead.

Finally, an idea popped into your head.

Smirking, you leaned over Noct’s sleeping form and rolled him over on his back, before you climbed on top of his stomach and straddled him with your small hands on his chest.

Feeling your weight on his stomach, a breathless and angry Noct bolted up to push you off of him, but was stopped by something completely unexpected…

A kiss.

It was a light, chaste peck on the lips, but it was a kiss no less and that surprised the young Prince.

Smiling you pulled away and rolled off of him; giggling lightly as Noctis stared with wide, surprised eyes at you.

“W-why did you do that?” Noct stammered as you shrugged innocently.

“It works in all the fairy tales with Princesses…I thought maybe it would work on a Prince.” You stated matter-of-factly as you smiled brightly.

Noctis continued to gawk at you as he slowly placed a finger in disbelief on his lips; to the spot where both of your lips had met.

“…We’re n-not supposed to do that y-yet.” Noct said nervously with a blush on his face.

Beaming with your dazzling smile, you leaned forward and grabbed the collar of the boy’s black shirt, before pulling it over to reveal his left shoulder. Near the top of his collarbone, there was an odd, black mark of some sort, almost like a small looped tattoo.

Why did that mark look so familiar to you? Almost as if you had seen the mark somewhere else other than on the young Prince…

Pointing at the black mark, your seven year old self shrugged indifferently.

Slowly, your vision began to blur again; fading into black once more.

“We have the Mark, remember? So, it doesn’t matter, Sleepyhead. Come on, let’s go play outside.” Your child-like voice echoed, before the vision disappeared.

Everything faded to black for a moment and in that moment, there was nothing but stillness and silence.

You tried to move in the darkness, but were unable to as something had held you in place. At one point, you were wondering if there was even going to be another vision involved as the transition seemed to last longer than others, but almost instantly, you received an answer.

“T-traitors…” A voice whispered weakly; echoing into the darkness.

Even though the voice was almost too quiet to be heard under normal circumstances, the sound of the voice itself was still loud enough to cut through the deafening silence.

“Traitors…” The weakened voice whispered again, but this time you could feel something above you move.

Whatever it was, it felt warm and made you feel safe; even the voice itself seemed to have calmed you somewhat. But for the life of you, you didn’t know what you needed to feel calm for.

You then began to realize that whatever was holding you in place before, had loosened its hold on you around your form and because of that, you managed to wriggle out of its grasp. Slowly, you began to back away from whatever was holding you; crawling on all fours as you scooted away from the warmth that had surrounded you and observed what you were wriggling away from.

 _A woman?_ You thought perplexedly as you studied the female’s nearly-lifeless body as you rested on your knees.

She was wearing a lovely formal dress and was extremely beautiful herself, but that hardly mattered as the condition of the woman lying before you was highly disturbing; sending you immediately into shock.

Gashes…

There were deep, bloody gashes that were bleeding profusely all over her back and spilling freely onto the white marble floor around her. The woman struggled to breathe and move, but the severity of her injuries weakened her greatly.

Something about this woman made your heart ache terribly as your chest tightened and you found it hard to swallow down the huge lump that you felt in the middle of your throat; stinging tears instantly formed in your eyes and threatened to fall at any second.

“…M-mommy…?” Your seven year old self managed to say as you continued to watch the gravely injured woman in horror with wide, astonished eyes.

But the woman did not look at you directly; instead, the woman was looking at something behind you and was glaring at it in disdain as she drew in deep, pain-filled breaths while she struggled greatly to raise herself up with her blood covered hands.

“H-how d-dare you…? How d-dare you b-betray us?!” The woman hissed furiously in between bared teeth as her eyes flashed in hatred at whoever she spoke to behind you.

Hesitantly, you looked over your shoulder to see who the woman was talking to and as you did, your heart sunk instantly from your chest to your stomach at the sight.

Bodies…Hundreds of dead, bloodied bodies were littered amongst the floor behind you.

The slaughtered people were all well dressed too and the massive room you were in looked as though it was originally decorated for some sort of celebration as there were white décor and flower arrangements placed around room. But some of the said flowers and decorations were viciously destroyed, as banners were torn to shreds, flower petals were strewn carelessly across the floor and dark blood splatters seemingly touched almost every inch of the white décor of the room.

But you noticed that amongst the dead, not only were there humans, there were also destroyed Magitek Troopers; their metallic bodies twitched occasionally as a few red sparks emitted from their destroyed remains.

Shaking, you found yourself unable to breathe as you took in the sight behind you.

What made the sight even worse, was who had remained standing amongst all of the bloody carnage…

Donned in formal dresses, surrounded by their kingdom’s Crownsguards, stood the former queens of Insomnia and Tenebrae; Aulea and Sylva.

Standing along with the two queens at their sides were a young Noctis, Lunafreya and Ravus who were all donned in white and had clutched at their mothers’ sides as they observed the scene around them with wide, fear-filled eyes.

Placing her hands on Noctis’ small shoulders, Queen Aulea began to push the young Crown Prince behind her as she tried to shield the boy from seeing anything else; slowly backing away from the horrific scene as Queen Sylva mimicked her actions with her own two children.

“They’ll be back…let us make haste. Quickly, Noctis-” Queen Aulea said breathlessly as she backed away; her eyes anxiously fixed on you and your mother.

“But-!” Noctis objected as he tried to peer around his mother to look at you, but Aulea continued to shield him with her body.

Queen Sylva held out her hand towards you and called your name from across the room as their Crownsguards quickly started to guide them out of the room; the guards already in a defensive stance with their weapons drawn.

“Come quickly, my dear!” Queen Sylva urged as she gestured for you to hurry over to her.

The woman who you called mother, sneered at the two queens before she weakly reached up and grabbed your small hand; effectively taking your attention away from the royals behind you.

“G-Gladio…t-take her, P-Prompto and escape. G-get yourselves out of here…t-trust no one outside of your household. Please, _hurry_.” Your mother ordered over her shoulder.

Over her shoulder, you could see the 11 year old Gladio holding Prompto as they both silently cried and trembled next to a few lifeless, bloodied bodies near an altar-like structure covered with white flowers. Sniffling, Gladio quickly wiped his eyes and turned his head towards you and your mother as he heard her order. He nodded and slowly stood up; taking a still weeping Prompto by the hand as they approached you.

As you numbly stood up to go along with Prompto and Gladio, your mother grabbed your hand when you tried to look back at the two quickly retreating queens, their children and their guards.

 _“Don’t trust them if you want to live,”_ The woman implored in a foreign language that you couldn’t identify, yet totally understood.

You weren’t aware that you knew another language up until that point, but before you had the chance respond, Gladio grabbed your other hand and urgently started to pull you to go with him.

Slowly, your vision began to blur and fade away, but as it did, you heard your mother’s voice one last time still speaking in another language.

 _“Insomnia…Tenebrae… Don’t ever trust them, my Dearest…”_ She said with her last breath. _  
_

As your vision began to restore itself back to the present, your anguished gaze was met with Noctis’ confused one; a few raindrops started to fall from the sky above.

“What was-” The Prince started to ask you, but swiftly and almost angrily, you snatched your hand away from his.

The feelings of the memory still felt fresh to you, especially the betrayal of the royals and the pain from the loss of your mother. Usually, the emotions would dull somewhat after the memory would disappear, however with this memory, the feeling was so strong that it was nearly impossible to shake off.

Even though Noctis was probably too young to have been directly involved with your mother’s death, it still meant that his and Lunafreya’s family were. Swallowing hard and trying to control the anger as well as the emotional pain you felt rising within you, you shook your head as Noct tried to approach you and you warily backed away; the raindrops were starting to increase moderately.

“It’s better if we don’t get involved romantically. We’ll just end up hurting each other. I’m sorry, this is for the best.” You said tensely as you folded your arms and finally walked away; trying your best to ignore the Crown Prince’s pained expression.

Noctis felt devastated and rejected as his advances towards you ultimately failed. He had thought for sure you would agree to date him…he truly and honestly believed that you would eventually become his bride one day, but there was something wrong. Something had gone terribly wrong and it had to do with touching your wrist as it had evoked a large array of emotions from just touching it.

You were afraid of getting too close to anyone and held a troubling secret that you didn’t want to get out; that much he was sure of.

Noctis had always been drawn to you like a moth to a flame, but this time he had ventured too close to the beautiful, enthralling fire that was you and as a result, he had just been emotionally burned.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For further updates and chapter discussions, please check out my Facebook page: https://facebook.com/SakuraAngelOfficial
> 
> ~*~*~  
> NEXT TIME:
> 
> Chapter 6: Kisses After Dark (Part 2)
> 
> They had been drawn to you like a moth to a flame, yet they could never understand why. It is almost as if they could hear your heart and soul calling out for them achingly. 
> 
> They say that the heart knows what it wants, but your heart can't seem to make up its mind, especially after what Ignis, Gladio and Prompto gives to comfort you.
> 
> It seems that this rainy night has more surprises in store for you...as well as more secrets.


	6. Kisses After Dark (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They had been drawn to you like a moth to a flame, yet they could never understand why. It is almost as if they could hear your heart and soul calling out for them achingly.
> 
> They say that the heart knows what it wants, but your heart can't seem to make up its mind, especially after what Ignis, Gladio and Prompto gives to comfort you.
> 
> It seems that this rainy night has more surprises in store for you...as well as more secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay~! Thank you, Lovelies for being so patient! 
> 
> Honestly, I was not expecting "Kisses After Dark" to be a multi-part chapter, but there's so much going on in the same night, that I had to break it up like this. Oh well, more goodies, I guess!
> 
> Well, here is the next chapter...enjoy~! <3

**Chapter 6:** _Kisses After Dark (Part 2)_

~*~*~

In the private study of the Lucian castle, there stood two figures in the dark room; neither one of them bothering to turn on the lights as it would draw attention to them. The doors were locked in the soundproofed room as an extra precautionary measure as the conversation was indeed a private and very important one; only the lights from the outside dimly lit the office’s interior as the rain poured heavily against its windows.

“How long ago did the visions start exactly?” Regis asked in a serious and low tone as he discreetly stood with his shoulder against the wall near a very tall, large window; peering at the garden scene in the rain from his private study on the second floor.

The Marshal’s beautiful daughter had left the garden minutes ago before the rain started to pour down, but his son, Noctis still stood in the very same spot that he was in right before she had headed inside; looking dejected with his head hung low as the rain drenched him.

Regis didn’t need to hear what happened between the pair of teenagers…it was as clear as day that his son had been rejected, though it seemed it had more to do with some sort of physical contact with her, rather than just not being attracted to the Prince himself.

King Regis didn’t notice it immediately at the dinner when Prompto had been affected by touching her, but this time for sure, he was certain that it had to have been the fact that they came in contact with the teenage girl’s wrist.

The wrist had a direct connection anatomically to one’s heart line.

Now, it made sense as to what happened back at the dinner table and even back during the Crownsguard exam.

Cor heaved a heavy sigh as he leaned casually against Regis’ polished office desk; massaging the temple of his head between his fingers.

“Three years ago, I guess. I was expecting her to remember the emotions behind it, as you’ve told me, but she’s seen the hospital and Ignis back when they were being treated.” The Marshal explained.

“Is that so?” Regis replied grimly as he continued to watch his son standing out in the pouring rain.

Cor sternly folded his arms and stole a side glance at the King of Lucis; his jaw muscle visibly tightening as he eyed the royal.

“You said she wouldn’t remember that… _any of it_. You saw to it yourself that her memory had been wiped clear, did you not? You assured me that you had wiped her memories yourself and that it would be one less complication to deal with.” Cor said brusquely; not even bothering to be formal with the King at this moment.

Regis tore his eyes away from his son in the garden below and met his serious, concerned blue gaze with Cor’s angered one.

“And as I have said before…she will regain that memory one day. None of us could have predicted that it would be in this manner, let alone complicate things even further, Cor. I am just as surprised as you are.” Regis replied coolly.

Cor unfolded his arms and dropped them at his sides; feeling exasperated as he exhaled deeply.

“So, now what do we do? She’s probably even more confused than before and will most likely have more questions for me to try to dodge. This isn’t getting any easier, Regis. She isn’t exactly a child anymore. I can’t distract her with ice cream and new toys like I used to. She’s going to want answers and if she doesn’t get them from me, she will definitely try to find them on her own and the _both of us know_ what sort of chaos that will lead to.” Cor warned tersely.

Regis walked over to his desk as best as he could with a slight limp, before taking his seat and resting his elbows upon the table; his chin lying atop of his clasped hands as he began to contemplate.

After a moment of tense silence, the King began to speak.

“We can only do our best to prolong the inevitable, my old friend. At least, until the proper time comes.” Regis surmised in a hushed voiced as he closed his eyes in thought.

Furiously, Cor turned around from leaning on the polished desk and slammed his hands down in front of the King’s rested elbows; not giving a damn whether it was disrespectful or not.

“Everything is unraveling around us now! How long do you expect us to keep this secret from those kids?! I’m sure the boys are curious now too and as long as our enemies are still alive, that secret could be exposed at any given moment, you do realize that? Hell, at this point those two slippery bastards have probably figured it all out and will likely make their move soon!” Cor spat with a growl.

Despite Cor’s sudden outburst, Regis kept his composure as calm as possible; not even opening his eyes when Cor hit his desk right in front of him.

“If this mission is proving to be too difficult, you still have the option to abort it, Cor. Their true identities won’t be known unless you, Clarus, Felix or Cyra reveal it. We are the only ones alive who know the truth in its entirety.”

“What if they already _do_ know about those kids? If my daughter gets just the right vital information from one of her old memories, she’ll go straight to Tenebrae without any hesitation and fall right into the trap. I’m sure of it.”

“I am aware of what they are trying to do, but their baiting technique is for Noctis and me. If they were aware of the others’ existence, then they wouldn’t bide their time as they are doing now and Insomnia would already be burned to the ground. Noctis is the only one that remains without a _Bond_. That is why it is _imperative_ to protect the Crown Prince of Lucis until the right time has come.”

Cor folded his arms again, even tighter than before as he glared down at the royal; restraining the urge to do something he may regret doing as Regis’ words sunk in.

“Just looking out for your own, huh? So, you mean to tell me that Marcella’s death was in vain after all?” Cor hissed.

Regis stiffened at the mention of that name and folded his arms as he glared back at the irritated man standing in front of him. All evidence of his calm composure erased at the dangerous accusation.

“You are taking this too far, Cor...” Regis warned in a low, dangerous tone; his cerulean eyes narrowing as the tension mounted in the room.

“I’m doing my best to protect her daughter! Do you know how much it pains me to see her grow up every day and look _exactly_ like her mother? Even her mannerisms and the way she speaks are just like **her**! Every single day, I regret not being able to make it to Marcella in time…maybe then I could’ve saved her. The only thing that remains is her child and you’re telling me that I should put Noctis _first_ rather than her daughter? Did you _ever_ care about Marcella, Regis?” Cor lashed out as his face turned red from anger and sweat began to form at his brow.

This time, Regis rose up menacingly from his seat as he glowered at the Marshal and began to speak; his voice quiet, yet hard.

“Do you still believe that you are the only one who had ever loved her? The only one who still mourns her? Noctis is my son and I love him dearly; I wouldn’t trade him for anything in this world. Even though Aulea and I were close, she could never, _ever_ replace Marcella. Her daughter could have been my own, but Marcella made her choice in the end. And neither I, nor Clarus have any resentment about it whatsoever. I can’t say the same about you, Cid and Weskham-” Regis stated.

“Yet, you are still willing to sacrifice her daughter’s life…those children’s lives, as if they were nothing! We’re playing a dangerous game here. With Shiva destroyed, Ravus already has one foot in the grave. How long do you think it will take before-” Cor started to scoff bitterly, but was interrupted.

“I do what I must! Noctis has been _Chosen._ Ensuring his safety is a priority now or have you’ve forgotten your sworn duty to your King?” Regis countered heatedly.

The Marshal was ready to argue back with the King, but the mention of his duty immediately silenced him; causing Cor to quietly grit his teeth in anger as he was forced to drop the subject.

“I have not forgotten my sworn duty, your Majesty. My loyalty to the Caelum bloodline remains until I draw my last breath.” Cor replied tensely as he knelt down on one knee and gave a low, apologetic bow.

Taking a deep calming breath, Regis sighed.

“I am sorry, Cor. Truly, I am. I understand your concern about them, but there is a much bigger picture that we have to look at in general and sacrifices must be made. Noctis has to survive until his _Bond_ is formed, but for now this secret remains just that…a _secret_. In due time, they will all come to know of their destinies…” Regis stated.

The King then began to pull an old-fashioned key from a pocket inside of his suit’s jacket and held it out for Cor in the palm of his hand; the long, golden chain of the key dangling freely from the side of his extended hand.

Silently, but curiously, Cor took it and gave Regis a questioning look.

“For when the time is right, old friend. She will come to you and seek it…” The King explained as he began to leave from dark private study; slightly limping towards the exit.

The Marshal heaved a heavy sigh and tried to calm himself; still feeling upset from the conversation.

“So, this is it, huh?” Cor asked gruffly, as he examined the old key in the light emitting from the window, before tucking away into his jacket’s inner pocket.

Regis nodded; grateful that his friend didn’t need more of an explanation.

“Yes, old friend. I suppose the time for it draws near.”

~*~*~

With tightly folded arms and a scowl upon your face, you angrily stormed your way back into the Lucian castle; unaware of the curious and concerned looks you were given by its staff as you try to make your way to back to your father.

You were trying so hard…so _very_ hard not to cry, as you could feel the tears welling up in your eyes, but you were upset and overwhelmed with the emotions of your last vision, that it was nearly impossible to stop the tears from finally falling.

Hot, angry tears streamed down your cheeks and ruined your once carefully applied makeup, but you hardly cared about that anymore as you wiped them away with the back of your hand and continued to storm through the palace.

So, the queens of Lucis and Tenebrae had betrayed your mother and caused The Great Massacre?

As you and everyone else knew from school History courses and the Lucian media, The Great Massacre was one of the largest massacres that had ever taken place in all of Eos. It not only occurred in the city of Palladia in the Galahd region, but also in the city of Vleuset that resided in Strathe, and Altissia, which resided in the region of Accordo.

Niflheim’s mechanical soldiers invaded those cities and brutally assassinated nearly every noble family and those with ties to them during a peace ceremony that took place that very day, before their cities and its unsuspecting citizens were attacked as well.

Up until now, you had assumed that you and your mother were one of the many residents that were unintentionally caught up in Niflheim’s attack, but after touching Noctis’ wrist, it was clear that the attack on you and your mother was indeed deliberate.

 _Mom and I... were nobles_ , You surmised grimly.

Your mother was assassinated and it had something to do with Insomnia and Tenebrae as she had called them traitors and told you, Gladio and Prompto to never trust them. But what in the hell happened to cause all of it?

Why was your mother betrayed and ruthlessly murdered?

And why did they try to kill an innocent child like you too?

Stopping in your tracks down a lavishly furnished, yet mostly empty hallway, you close your eyes to try and remember something in your past; **anything** that could try to help piece these new bits of information together.

But as you tried to recall your time there in Palladia, your eyebrows knitted together as a piercing, head-splitting headache formed and caused your ears to ring painfully loud, while your body was overcome with overwhelming dizziness.

Blindly, with one hand on your forehead and the other reaching out to steady your body on something stable, you managed to find a wall to lean on. Through the loud ringing of your ears and the worsening of your dizziness, you indistinctly heard someone call your name.

Suddenly, your legs gave out from under you and you found yourself sliding down the wall; kneeling upon the floor.

“Hey… _hey!_ What’s wrong?!” A male’s voice asked frantically as he cupped your cheeks with his hands and tilted your head to make him look up at you. However, as you opened your eyes to see who it was, your sight was blurred by the excruciating headache and the brightness of the citadel’s lights. Despite the closeness of the other person to your face, you could only distinguish the outline of the guy.

“Gladio…?” You breathed in a slightly slurred voice; blinking weakly up at the male that knelt in front of you.

The figure appeared to nod.

“Yeah, it’s me-” His deep and rugged voice said, but stopped abruptly when you unexpectedly fell forward against the expanse of his warm broad, chiseled chest. The smell of his leather jacket and pleasant pine-like cologne calmed you and caused you to blush from how sexy he smelled.

“Shit! I gotta go get some help… Stay with me alright?” Gladio said in a panic just as you became limper in his hold. Tilting your head back, he rapidly patted your one of your cheeks in an effort to keep you conscious.

“Mm-hmm,” Was all you could utter.

You could feel Gladio carefully wrap one arm around your waist and the other around the back of your legs as he gingerly and effortlessly picked up your petite body to carry it bridal style. As the 19 year old held your limp body close against his firm chest, your weakened body could no longer support your heavy and dizzy feeling head; causing your head to roll back against his one of his hard, muscular biceps as he ran down the hallway.

You never had a migraine this severe before, especially one associated with trying to remember your past.

Sure, whenever you did try to recall one of your memories a migraine would emerge, but it was only brief and lasted a few seconds. However, it seemed that this time was very different…

It was almost as if you had delved too deep and something was purposely kicking you out with an agonizing reprimand.

It was so unbearable, that you barely registered Gladio frantically calling your name repeatedly, despite his booming voice being practically next to your ear.

At first, you couldn’t respond as it felt as though your throat had gone dry, but just as Gladio started to shout for help, you managed to find your voice even though it was a bit of a struggle.

“…Nhm. N-no, I’m fine…” You groaned; swallowing hard as you feebly tried to push the older teen away.

“No, you’re **not** fine. We need to hurry and get you to a doctor. You’re in bad shape,” Gladio stated firmly as he held you tightly to his chest; still running down the hall.

You knew Gladio was right, as you still felt weak enough to not even support your head anymore, but still the fact of seeing an Insomnian doctor, especially one that was closely associated with Insomnia’s royal family seemed like an awful and terrifying idea. If your mother was right, then no one from the citadel, especially anyone with royal ties could be trusted. Who else may know about your past…perhaps, they might come back and finish the job by trying to kill you?

It would be easy for the doctor to pull up your medical records and could tip someone off.

You had taken your biological father’s last name of Leonis after he formally adopted you from Palladia, but aside from that, no one else knew who you really were.

This was definitely the wrong place to find yourself vulnerable…especially, while potential enemies were around.

With great effort, you shook your head and feebly pounded against Gladio’s chest to catch his attention.

“No doctor. Just need to lie down. Please, Gladio… _Aahh!_ ” You implored softly; wincing hard as a blinding twinge radiated from your head again.

“Fuck, this is **serious**! Can’t you see that you need help?!” Gladio cursed fiercely as he slowed down to a stop. To anyone else, his statement might have sounded harsh, but for you it wasn’t, as you could easily hear the concern and fear laced in the undertone of his voice.

You could feel Gladio pull you away from his form and tentatively placed you on something soft and comfortable.

A couch, perhaps? You weren’t entirely too sure as you kept your eyes closed.

“Thank you…” You whispered appreciatively with a sigh.

“You seriously need a doctor. I don’t think you realize how bad this is! No offense, but you look paler than a corpse and you’re starting to break out in a cold sweat. You can’t even keep your goddamn eyes open! Are you going to tell me what the fuck is going on here?” Gladio demanded heatedly.

“ _It’s not safe here_.” You breathed; unexpectedly speaking in another language that you couldn’t identify.

It was the foreign language you heard your mother spoke, yet you were still unsure how you understood it…how you could even _speak_ it, but still it flowed naturally from your tongue as if you had used it your entire life.

But you weren’t intentionally using it, it was as if your body had a mind of its own; just going into autopilot. How could you use this language without really knowing what it was?

“…What?” You heard Gladio ask; his voice laced heavily with confusion.

“ _It’s not safe here. Insomnia isn’t safe_.” You automatically repeated, but it only confused Gladio even further.

“What are you saying…?” He inquired perplexedly as he tenderly placed his calloused hand on your cheek.

With determination, you shook your head again and opened your eyes; the feeling of the migraine was ebbing away now and your sight was beginning to clear. Gladio’s hand had never once left your face.

“N-nothing. It’s just- I was saying that I feel better now, thank you.” You mumbled as you semi-consciously nuzzled your face more into the tender hold of his large hand.

Gladiolus gave a breathless chuckle of disbelief.

“Really, after that kind of scare? Y’know you gave me a damn heart attack a few seconds ago. I thought for sure, I was gonna lose ya.” Gladio stated as he pulled away from you and clutched the area of his chest where his heart was.

You offered him a weak smile as you slowly sat up; silently noticing that you were indeed on a couch, though it was more of a loveseat and it was one of the many ones that were in the halls of the citadel for guests.

“Sorry, Big Guy. Just the second part of my weird panic attack, guess it wasn’t done from dinner.” You lied with a self-depreciating joke.

“A panic attack, huh? So, I guess even a goddess has a weakness.” Gladio joked with a sly smirk, which caused you to blush.

“Flattery won’t get you out of that bet you lost, yesterday.” You reminded him.

Gladio shrugged and sighed.

“And here I thought I was being your knight in shining armor by saving your tiny, stubborn ass. Guess I don’t get a reward then, huh?”

“Seriously? Like one of those damsels in distress that you read about in your perverted books? No way!” You dismissed with a blush as you rolled your eyes.

Slowly, you tried to stand up, but the dizziness was still lingering and luckily, Gladio reacted quickly by catching you as you fell forward.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” He murmured softly in your ear with concern as he held you close.

You nodded quietly; secretly reveling in his sexy, masculine scent.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just my body’s friendly reminder of how worthless I am…” You muttered with a sad smile, just as Gladio pulled away.

“Worthless? You’re far from worthless, that’s for damn sure. Was that why you look like you’ve been crying?” Gladio inquired with worry as he rested his chin atop of your head; still holding you close in an embrace.

Emptily, you gave a humorless chuckle.

“Trust me, I know what I am, Big Guy. It was just a matter of time before everyone found out how unstable and fucked up I really am.” You sighed dismally as you pulled away from his warm and gentle embrace.

However, as you stepped back from Gladio’s towering form, he placed both of his large hands on each of your small shoulders to prevent you from moving anywhere else.

“You’re hurting…” Gladio said quietly.

“I’m fine.” You automatically replied with a whisper, but even then, you couldn’t convince yourself that you were.

You hate feeling vulnerable, which was why you’ve spent those past years getting stronger, but it appeared to only increase your physical strength and did absolutely nothing for you, emotional-wise or mentally. Unable to look him in the eye, you chose to focus on the patterned marble floor instead.

But, that wasn’t good enough for Gladio…

Removing one of his large hands from your shoulders, he used it to tilt your chin up to look at him. For a brief moment, his warm brown gaze met with your saddened eyes and before you could even form a statement to try to get away from his stare, Gladio leaned down and tenderly captured your lips with his.

You close your eyes just as soon as his warm lips descended upon yours; your heartbeat beginning to race. It was gentle and slow; soft and careful, as if you were the most precious and fragile thing in the world. His large, brawny arms slowly wrapped around your petite waist and pressed you closer against the expanse of his warm, bare chest; causing you to moan softly at the comfortable warmth that radiated from him.

Your provocative moan earned a low, approving growl from Gladio as his slow, tender kiss gradually became a deep, hungry one; suckling your soft and red painted lips with a little more fervor. Carefully, his warm tongue swept across your lips as his kiss deepened; a silent request from him to gain further entry.

But just as you parted your lips to allow Gladio’s tongue to explore the warm, moist cavern of your mouth, the both of you heard voices coming from around the corner of one of the other halls.

Reluctantly, you pulled away and broke free from Gladio’s tender embrace.

You weren’t sure who was coming, but you didn’t want to be caught in such a compromising position, especially around here. It would just cause more problems.

“Sorry, Gladdy. I…I have to go.” You offered weakly as you backed away and headed towards the hallway where you heard the voices.

However, just as you started to round the corner, his voice made you pause.

“Y’know, I’ll always be there for you. So if there’s something wrong, just tell me, okay? You’re not worthless.” Gladio said sincerely; a look of worry casted upon his face.

You offered him a small, sad smile as you looked back at him over your shoulder.

“It’s alright. _I trust you,”_ You replied vaguely, speaking in a foreign language in the latter sentence, before turning the corner.

 _You’re one of the few that I could trust around here…_ **truly**. _As soon as I figure out what’s going on, I’ll explain. But for now, you’ll be much safer if you didn’t know…_ You thought to yourself, wishing you could tell Gladio yourself without the fear of being called insane.

Somehow, you had to get to the bottom of this and find the answers. The only logical way you could see how, would be to play your role well as the Lieutenant of the Crownsguard and search for any clues in the meantime.

It was a dangerous game to play…snooping around the Lucian royal family. But if they were the ones responsible for pulling the strings with Niflheim and killing your beloved mother as well as countless citizens, then you would have no problem with exacting revenge.

Steeling your features and hardening your aching heart, you held your chin up with a new sense of purpose as well as defiance as you walked past a pair of staff members that were rounding the corner you had came from.

If the Caelum family were involved, you would personally see that this placed burned to the ground for it.

~*~*~

Gladiolus watched her svelte, petite form as she suddenly left from their kiss and disappeared down a hallway.

As long as he had known the Marshal’s daughter, Gladio never once saw her cry or display any poignant expression, which was naturally alarming. Though she was graceful and sophisticated, she was also tough and never showed weakness…at least, not outwardly.

Something was going on…

Something that she couldn’t explain outright.

As much as he wanted to ask about the incident from the exam yesterday, Gladio did not.

Not after what happened with Prompto during the dinner, at that point, it seemed as though it would be a highly sensitive subject; one that could not be broached easily regardless of how long he knew her. Yet, Gladiolus knew there was some sort of connection there.

Nevertheless, there was something else going on…something _major_ , and it was probably the cause of her tear-stained face before the so-called panic attack.

As two of the staff members that they heard from before came around the corner, Gladiolus folded his arms and eyed the pair warily as they walked passed him; biding him a pleasant “good night” with warm smiles.

“Insomnia isn’t safe, huh?” Gladio repeated quietly as they left, before he walked over to a painted portrait hanging on a nearby wall.

It was a portrait of a younger King Regis, back when he was first crowned as the King of Lucis. Casually, he ran his calloused fingers along the intricate gold trim of the frame as he silently scrutinized the painting; narrowing his brown eyes.

 _“Unsafe enough around here to speak in our native language. I wonder what else do you know, Baby?”_   Gladiolus mused quietly; using the same language as she did.

If that was the case, then things were certainly proving to be more complicated now.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For further updates and chapter discussions, please check out my Facebook page: https://facebook.com/SakuraAngelOfficial
> 
> ~*~*~  
> NOTE: 
> 
> I currently have 4 days off (technically 3 days now) this week from work, so expect some back to back updates! Woo-hoo!
> 
> For those of you who follow my Facebook page, you little lovelies had an early present this week in the form of an extended preview from this chapter (Chapter 6), so later on tonight I will post another extended preview for Chapter 7! Be on the lookout again~! (^o^)
> 
> Besides that, I hope everyone has enjoyed this chapter! I will see you very, very soon with another update~! :3
> 
> ~*~*~  
> NEXT TIME:
> 
> Chapter 7: Kisses After Dark (Part 3)
> 
> With less than a handful of people that you could trust, there are dangerous secrets that are probably best left alone.


	7. Kisses After Dark (Part 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With less than a handful of people that you could trust, there are dangerous secrets that are probably best left alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Lovelies~! 
> 
> Sorry for the long wait, things at work have been hectic and depressing lately, but I managed to finish this chapter.
> 
> On average the previous chapters have been almost 8-10 pages long (on MS Word), but this chapter is a monster. It's 22 pages long! (O_o)
> 
> So thank you for being so patient with me!
> 
> Happy Reading~!

**Chapter 7:** _Kisses After Dark (Part 3)_

~*~*~

The rain continued to pour down heavily outside as you made your way back to the dining room of the Lucian citadel, but you hardly noticed anymore as your thoughts were more focused on serious matters. You had always questioned why the Great Massacre had happened, but not to this extent before. However, because you knew that your mother was directly involved with it, you began to wonder about everyone’s involvement in it.

Your mother must have been close with the two queens of Lucis and Tenebrae, as she had called them traitors in your memory, but what could possibly warrant an assassination so cruel that those two countries would join their common enemy, Niflheim, to murder all of those with ties to royal families.

The city of Palladia was one of the most well protected capitals of Eos and was well known for training the best human militia in the world. In terms of trade, the region of Galahd was once known for its abundance of farmed food, which accounted for most of its trade income. Nevertheless, Palladia also had a magical crystal, which would entice Niflheim to attack it…but why would Lucis and Tenebrae be involved? To catch a highly protected city like that off guard would have been immensely difficult, yet somehow it was still accomplished.

You could see why Niflheim would attack Galahd’s Crown City, but for Lucis and Tenebrae, there must have been some hidden motive as the two countries did not directly benefit from the ambush. Sure, the country of Lucis had received most of Galahd’s refugees because of it, but if they were after the highly trained soldiers or the access to the abundance of food, then it was as though Tenebrae and Lucis had shot themselves in the foot, as both things were nearly wiped out during the attack.

This ultimately didn’t make any sense…at least on the surface it didn’t.

Palladia’s royal family was all mercilessly slain, including the young Crown Prince and their extended families. Perhaps you and your mother were related to the deceased Galahdian royal family and thus were targeted as a result.

But why would the three countries go so far? Not only to murder just one royal family, but a total of four others as well as their associates…and during a harmless peace ceremony, at that?

As you entered back into the massive dining room from which you had left earlier, you noticed that no one was there. The table had been cleared, the chairs were all neatly back in their place and there was no sign of any human life whatsoever in the room, although the lights were still on. Spotting a clock on the wall, you supposed it made sense; it was nearly almost an hour since the whole dinner debacle happened.

By then, everyone would have left and surely, your father was looking for you now.

As you turned around to leave the room, you noticed that there was someone sitting in a lone chair by the door. They had been there for some time now, as you didn’t see anyone move in the room at all, but during your musings you had probably overlooked the figure as you had entered the dining room.

“Prompto…?” You asked curiously, as you took a hesitant step forward.

The blonde was leaning forward in the chair with his head bowed low and his hands clasped together in between his legs. Upon hearing his name, the young man slowly looked up in the direction of your voice; a look of sadness was upon his face before he quickly disguised it with a strained smile.

It looked as though he had been crying too…

“Oh, you’re back! How are you holding up?” Prompto asked, trying to sound a bit cheerful as he stood up and straightened his clothes.

“I’m fine. But, are you okay? I’m really sorry about dinner tonight. I really should have been careful. You’re not hurt, are you?” You inquired as you slowly approached him.

Prompto flashed a small smile and gave a dismissive wave.

“Nah, I’m alright. It was just a little… _unexpected_ , I guess, but no harm done on my end. What was that anyway?” The blonde haired teen asked.

You chewed the bottom of your lip as you tried to come up with an answer. At least, some sort of answer that did not sound insane.

“Umm…a panic attack.” You said unconvincingly as you rubbed your arm nervously.

Prompto raised a curious, light blonde eyebrow at your statement.

“Uhh…that was a panic attack…? Are you sure? Because, I’m not sure why, but a lot of emotions just hit me out of nowhere…”

You nodded a bit too quickly and enthusiastically for someone who was telling the truth.

“Yeah…well, I get those panic attacks sometimes and I guess because I can use magic, it just messes with those that I touch whenever the attack strikes me,” You lied; hoping that it sounded logical enough so that he wouldn’t pursue the subject any further.

Tilting his head a bit, looking like a cute and confused puppy, Prompto’s dark blue gaze met with yours.

“And…are you sure you’re alright? I mean, not that you look bad or anything…but you just look like you’ve been crying. If you need someone to talk to, I’m all ears. That is, if you want to talk, you know?” Prompto offered timidly with a blush as he nervously scratched his head.

You flashed him a small, warm smile. This young man was really a kind, selfless person; it was very endearing.

“Thank you, that’s really sweet of you to offer. It’s just an after effect of the attack, that’s all. But if you feel like talking about it, I don’t mind at all. It was the first time that it’s happened to you and I’m pretty sure you want to sort out those feelings,” You said.

Actually, you were a bit curious about what Prompto felt from his end.

You never really wanted to discuss those kind of feelings with Ignis from when it first happened, as he was your rival at the time. With Prince Noctis…well, now it would be complicated to ask, especially after rejecting him. And with Gladiolus…

Subconsciously, your fingers traced your plump lips as you recalled that heated kiss; your face flushing with heat.

Not that Noctis’ kiss was bad at all, as his was gentle and sweet, but Gladio certainly had more experience, which was understandable, as he always seemed to have a different woman over his apartment that often left in ruined makeup and disheveled clothes that they wore from the previous night. Sometimes, they would embarrassedly scurry out of his place while wearing one of his oversized shirts; a thought that caused you to clench your fist as a hint of jealousy washed over you.

Sure, Gladio’s kiss was amazing and sensual, but you were smart enough to avoid his womanizing tendencies. Although your heart was starting to say otherwise…

You would have to deal with him _much_ later, after you cooled down from the intense kiss and pulled yourself together.

Stirring out of your thoughts, you watched as Prompto sat back down in his chair, with a melancholy look casted upon his face as he sighed.

“Those feelings…they felt familiar, you know? Like, there are times when we feel sad or happy and stuff like that, but there was something different about these emotions that…I don’t know…had certain ties to it, I guess.” Prompto explained as he anxiously ran his fingers through his spiky, blonde hair.

You nodded, waiting for Prompto to continue.

“Take grief for example. That’s kind of a hard feeling to forget when it’s tied to someone you lost. Or something like…love, maybe. But that’s not all I felt when we touched…there was fear too. Like this horrible, heart-pounding fear, right before I felt the pain across my back. I dunno, just reminded me of the nightmares I get sometimes, but those are just dreams.”

An odd, cold chill ran down your spine at what the blonde had just said.

“ _Nightmares_?” You repeated intriguingly as you approached him closely.

Prompto nodded slowly; his dark blue eyes swimming with emotion.

“Yeah, they’re nothing really. Ever since I was eight, I always had this fear of those Magitek Troopers, but I mean it’s normal, right? They’re just creepy robot soldiers that have no souls, but I have these nightmares that I was being attacked by one. No matter how many times I dream of it, it always happens the same way. It’s kinda weird, I know, but it’s just a dream.” Prompto added sheepishly as he looked away from you.

Thoughtfully, you studied Prompto for a moment and you noticed that he was on the verge of tears as he swallowed hard; most likely from recalling his nightmare.

Maybe those visions weren’t a dream after all…but how in the _hell_ did a little kid survive such a brutal assault from a M.T? The mechanical soldier practically butchered the little boy to death, so it made no sense that he was sitting right in front of you.

“Yeah…just a dream.” You repeated quietly and guiltily; silently wishing that you could comfort him.

The blonde teenager then sighed heavily as he lowered his head again; wringing his hands together.                                                                             

“Then why does it hurts so much?” He whispers to himself; but you could still somehow hear him.

Gingerly, you knelt in front of him and gently took his anxious hands in yours; rubbing them soothingly. Oh, how you wished that you could take his pain away…both of your pain away.

The past, as much as you wanted to find the truth, you knew it would be painful once you knew everything. Just glimpses of the past were emotionally traumatizing enough…

But now you’ve triggered the once forgotten emotions of another, once again.

Prompto’s tear filled indigo colored eyes slowly met your guilty gaze.

“I’m really sorry,” You apologized regretfully as reached out to cup one of his freckled cheeks.

Prompto tentatively reached up to place his hand over yours as his light blonde eyebrows knitted together in slight confusion. There was something about him that was drawing you towards him like a magnet; something unexplainable.

Your heart was beating quickly now and even harder as it felt as though it was hammering loudly in your ears. Somewhere between feeling Prompto’s soft skin beneath your fingertips, or staring right into those sorrow filled blue eyes…you felt the need to get closer to him.

Half-consciously, you were leaning your face even closer to Prompto’s as your eyes continued to stare into the depths of his blue irises; drawing closer as you were merely a few shaky breaths away. Prompto smelled very nice and refreshing as the fragrance he wore had an energizing, citrus-like scent to it.

“It’s alright, it’s not really your fault-” He whispered, but was suddenly silenced as he felt your soft, plump lips upon his.

You might not have known him for very long, or perhaps you had as your memory had just revealed not too long ago, but you felt so guilty for taking that sweet, cheerful smile away from Prompto, even if it was unintentional.

The kiss was innocent and tender, as you merely wished to comfort him; your eyes closing immediately as both of your lips touched.

At first, you felt Prompto not responding to the kiss as you sensed his hesitation while his body tense a bit in surprise. However, after a brief moment you felt the blonde slowly melting into the warm, gentle kiss.

His lips were pleasantly soft and smooth, almost like your own, yet the way he kissed you back was undeniably male, if albeit slightly awkward. It was careful, yet you could sense the hunger behind it.

He was holding back, but it was a little more different than the way that Gladio and Noctis had held back in their kiss. It was almost as though Prompto was timidly trying to mimic your kiss, but the uncertainty behind it spoke volumes, even with your eyes closed you could tell that he was still hesitant.

It wasn’t that his kiss was bad, but…

_Could it be that this is…?_

Delicately, you broke away from the kiss and slowly rose from your kneeling position in front of his chair; blushing heatedly when Prompto opened his eyes and stared at you in confusion.

You swallowed nervously as you looked away from the blonde and tried to stare at something else… _anything_ else, but him. Your heart was beating hard and fast as a wave of embarrassment started to rush through your whole body.

“Um…was this...? I mean- Is this your first time?” You asked quietly.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Prompto nod slowly.

Instantly, your hands flung up to your heated cheeks and your eyebrows raised in mortification; as your eyes went wide.

 _I just stole his first kiss and he barely knows me!_ You mentally slapped your forehead.

“Oh Gods! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to! I mean, I just wanted to help- Oh Gods, what’s wrong with me?!” You said in a panic as you patted your chest; trying to steady your fluttering heart.

Prompto lowered his head upon seeing your reaction.

“Was it really that bad?” Prompto asked hesitantly, his eyes staying lowered to the polished marble floor.

“No, not at all. It was really sweet. It’s just that…I didn’t mean to steal that experience from you. You hardly know me and I just- I’m really sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” You explained with a blush prettily staining your cheeks.

Prompto raised his head and sat up straight in the chair; a deep blush staining his freckled cheeks as well.

“So, that kiss… It wasn’t bad?” Prompto asked interestedly. It seems as though the sadness that was once there had disappeared as the bright, lively sparkle in his blue eyes returned and were now fully focused on you.

“Not for a first kiss, no. But I shouldn’t have don-”

A big, lopsided smile slowly started to spread across the blonde’s face as he relaxed a bit more in his chair.

“No biggie. I never would’ve guessed in a million years that my first kiss would be with the hottest girl in Insomnia, makes me feel really special.” Prompto smiled brightly.

His smile, his humor and his positive energy were so contagious, that you couldn’t help but to smile. You were silently relieved that the blonde teenager was back to his normal, cheerful self.

“Just umm…don’t tell anyone okay, Blondie?” You chuckled nervously as you rubbed your arm.

With a slight crestfallen look on his face, Prompto nodded in understanding.

“Right. It’s our little secret, I guess.” Prompto said; his voice sounding a bit disappointed.

Although you felt bad about telling Prompto to keep this secret, you didn’t want him to necessarily run off to tell Gladio and Noctis what you just did. You were unsure why you felt the need to kiss the cute blonde, but you were most unsure of how your heart felt after kissing him, in addition to kissing the Crown Prince and your sparring buddy.

It felt as though there was some sort of magnetic force between all of you and it was just drawing you close to them somehow. It wasn’t a bad feeling exactly, as it felt warm, tender and somewhat familiar, but it just made you more than confused if anything.

Offering Prompto an apologetic smile, you held out your hand.

“Give me your phone,” You commanded gently as the blonde tilted his head in confusion.

“Huh? Uh, why?” He asked.

You shook your head and gestured for him to hurry up. As he reached into the pocket of his dark skinny jeans, you couldn’t help but to smile in disbelief of yourself.

 _I can’t believe I’m going to do this. I feel bad for the kid, but he seems nice._ You thought pleasantly to yourself.

After retrieving his smartphone and unlocking it, Prompto reluctantly places it into your outstretched hand.

“Uhh, you’re not _really_ going to go through my phone are you?” Prompto asked nervously as he eyed your hand.

As you were going through his phone contacts, you gave a playful smirk.

“Why? Do you have something embarrassing in here?” You teased with a small chuckle; adding your contact information into his phone.

Prompto gave an anxious, breathy laugh as he stood up from his seat.

“Uh, well…you see…” He started uneasily as he tried to reach for his phone. You smiled innocently as you locked his phone back and placed it right into his hand.

“Don’t worry, your secret addiction to playing King’s Knight is safe with me. Besides, I only gave you my number. You’re a really sweet guy. Maybe we could hang out sometime…you know, as friends.” You stated as you leaned forward and gave Prompto a soft, appreciative kiss on his flushed freckled cheek.

Prompto visibly swallowed hard as he nodded numbly; reaching up to touch the very spot that you just kissed.

“Yeah, sure! Absolutely,” Prompto smiled widely as a dreamy look came across his face.

As you turned to leave out the dinning room’s door, a small and caring smile adorning your face, you heard your name being called right over your shoulder.

Turning around to look at Prompto, he smiled gratefully as he nervously scratched his head.

“I just wanted to thank you. Y’know…for cheering me up,” Prompto explained.

You gave him a warm smile in return and waved in a timid manner.

“Just promise me you won’t tell anyone,” You reiterated pleadingly.

Prompto flashed a bright smile, his indigo blue eyes sparkling with cheerful brightness as he blushed furiously and waved back shyly.

“Don’t worry, I promise.”

With that, you bade Prompto goodnight and exited out of the dining room; searching for your father so that you could go home.

As you made your way through the Citadel, you noticed that it was very late at night, as there would have been more of its staff around. This was the latest that you have ever been in the Lucian castle, which made you secretly wonder.

 _Hmm…how much security is around here now?_ You pondered as you folded your arms; your eyes darting about the empty corridors as you walked casually and searched for any signs of life.

There were a few guards here and there. Most of them were stationed towards the entrances and exits, but the coverage elsewhere throughout the castle was not as heavy. You were still looking for the Marshal, but perhaps you could _accidentally_ stumble across some important, unguarded documents along the way.

Couldn’t hurt to look, right?

Remaining as casual as possible, you turned down another empty corridor; heading towards the center of the Citadel where most of the political business was conducted.

You were aware that there was a room where important Lucian documents were held, besides the King’s private library, but during the day it was heavily guarded by eight guards: two guards stationed by its corridor’s entrance, two along its corridor and four guards stationed outside of the door of that room itself.

 _The Lucian Archive…_ You thought seriously.

Shit, this was risky.

Sure, you were looking for your father, so you had that as an excuse if worse came to worse. However, you knew that the closer that you got to the private archive, the more difficult it would be to get out of trouble if you were caught there.

Even though you were aware of the risks involved, your curiosity was too great to ignore.

If you could find something… _anything_ that could link to your past and what happened 9 years ago, then perhaps the risks would be worth it. It could possibly hold the right ammunition to go after the ones involved, including the King of Lucis if he had a hand in this.

As you drew closer and closer to the archive, you became more anxious as an ominous feeling started trickling into your senses; causing an ice, cold chill to run down your spine. You didn’t know what caused it at first, but as you turned down a few more hallways and grew closer to the archive’s room, the ominous sensation increased immensely.

It was so intense, that you had to pause a moment in the hallway and steady yourself against a wall as you clutched your stomach; feeling an odd, stomach churning knot in your belly as dread started to make itself known within your body.

Something was off and it definitely unnerved you.

It was as though the castle’s very own walls were trying to scare you away as if you were inside of a dark, creepy haunted house, rather than the well-lit interior of the Citadel. Standing up straight and swallowing hard, you decided to press on.

So, maybe there was _something_ worth investigating in the Lucian Archive after all.

Turning down another hallway, your heart skipped a beat and you nearly smirked as you noticed that the two guards that were supposed to be stationed at the hall’s entrance were not there right now.

Good, it would make it easier if no one was around.

However, as you proceeded to turn and head down the archive’s own hallway, your heart nearly dropped into your stomach as you froze in place.

Oh, there was a _damn_ good reason why there were no guards at the hall’s entrance.

It was because the Crownsguards’ formation had changed for the night shift.

Instead of the guards being mostly spread out along the hallway, they were mostly gathered around the archive’s door; standing perfectly still with their threatening looking weapons in hand.

Silently, you inhaled shakily and took a few steps back before a small, odd mechanical sound caught your attention on your left. You swallowed nervously, as sweat began to form on your forehead and your heart-rate started to rapidly increase.

In the top left corner of the hallway was a security camera; turning its lens right at you.

You nearly fainted as you almost sunk to your knees; instead you steadied yourself against the nearby wall as you tried to recover from the sudden wave of shock.

You should have known that there would be extra security measures besides the Crownsguards. Mentally, you cursed yourself for even trying to make it this far without knowing what you were really looking for.

What if you had risked it all for nothing by going into archive?

Everything in your body was telling you to turn back before, but you didn’t listen and now you had nearly suffered the consequences by almost blindly entering the archive with no proof of what was in there.

Why did you decide to be so reckless? Now, the security camera had seen you and surely, you were in deep shit.

“Curiosity killed the cat, you know.” A low, silky voice purred next to your ear; causing you to jump in alarm.

You whipped around and threw a punch, but the offender quickly dodged the hit by merely moving their head to the side.

Wearing a small and disapproving frown, Ignis folded his arms as he eyed you suspiciously with his emerald green eyes.

“Gods, Iggy! You almost gave me a heart attack!” You hissed lowly; not wanting the guards to hear the commotion from around the corner.

“ _Rightfully_ _so_. I am positive that you are aware of the consequences that would occur if you were to approach the Lucian Archive. Among being charged with treason and possibly losing your life, a heart attack would be the least concerning outcome of your situation.” Ignis stated quietly.

You sighed dismally as you avoided his intense stare; choosing to look elsewhere on his body, except his eyes.

“Let’s just say, hypothetically, I got lost okay?” You mumbled as a blush crept to your face; you couldn’t help but to stare at his well-toned chest that was covered by a nice, slightly tight fitting button down shirt.

Oh, how the Six had blessed him with this hot, chiseled body…

Ignis tilted his head a bit to catch your attention; smirking sexily as he noticed what you were looking at, before snapping you out of your brief reverie.

“Then _hypothetically_ I would say you were lying. No one usually happens upon the archive by accident and certainly not _this_ late in the Citadel. Consider yourself lucky that you were not caught, Lieutenant.” Ignis murmured grimly.

You raised an apprehensive eyebrow.

“So, you’re not going to rat me out, Specs?” You asked quietly as you folded your arms.

Ignis sighed and unfolded his own arms as he slowly stepped closer to you; almost as though he was a predator stalking its prey.

“Am I truly that distrustful in your eyes?” Ignis asked intently in a quiet voice.

You bit your lip and backed away; feeling the blush on your face darkened as his chest came into contact of your direct line of sight.

Embarrassedly, you looked away.

This was _Iggy_ , damn it!

Annoying, pretentious Ignis that was the source of your headaches for many years. Just because he’s attractive now, doesn’t mean that his personality changed with it.

However, no matter how much your head was trying to tell you that, your heart and body seemed to refuse as they were reacting to his proximity in their own ways. The smell of Ignis’ cologne smelled just as attractive as he looked; the smell of sandalwood and other rich, exotic oils was amazingly intoxicating.

Suddenly, you could feel a pool of warmth beginning to form in your lower abdomen, causing you to mentally curse at the Six for making you feel this way.

“Well…there was that time down in the kitchen-” You murmured crossly as you walked around Ignis to head back to the castle’s entrance. You didn’t wish to stick around that area any longer or else it would draw more suspicion from the security guards that were monitoring the castle’s cameras.

“We were children then. Besides, you weren’t supposed to eat that cake…it was meant for Noctis.” Ignis scoffed as he followed right behind you.

The memory of what happened in the castle’s kitchen when you were eight years old was a touchy subject for you. Thanks to Iggy the tattle-teller, the Head Chef at the time who didn’t have a fondness for children (except those of the royal family), had pulled you aside and beaten you hard with a wooden spoon.

The chef was merciless in her punishment and even now, you still had muscle memory of every single hit of the hard, wooden spoon she gave you. It was just the start of your dislike towards Ignis when you were children and the reason why you had always avoided the castle’s kitchen, despite the fact that the woman had retired years ago.

“Yeah well, I didn’t know, okay? I was beaten by that horrible woman after that, so forgive me if I have trust issues.” You sneered as you crossed your arms and walked even faster to get away from him.

Still, you could hear Ignis keeping up with your pace with his well-polished dress shoes, which probably didn’t require much effort from his end as you wore high heels. As long as you got away from the castle’s archive and the guards surrounding it, then maybe security wouldn’t come after you.

Surely, they have seen you on the cameras by now and were probably discussing what they should do with you. You just wanted to get away from the Citadel’s security and from Ignis; both you know would start interrogating you if hung around too long.

Suddenly, you felt a large, firm hand on your shoulder pulling you back slightly; forcing you to stumble a bit in your heels and turn around.

Ignis called your name softly and when you came face-to-face with him, he sighed sadly and gave you an apologetic look.

“My apologies, I wasn’t aware that she did that to you...” Ignis started to say sincerely, but you merely shook your head and brushed his hand from your shoulder; feeling a bit guilty for mentioning what the former Head Chef had done.

The sorrowful expression Ignis gave reminded you of the memory of the hospital; when he looked over at you with those same saddened and concerned eyes. The look was enough to bring back the pang in your heart, so you decided to change the subject.

“Don’t apologize, it was a long time ago. Besides, you’re right…we were only children then.” You dismissed as you tried to turn around and walk away, but once again, Ignis called your name.

You paused from walking away and turned to glance at him from over your shoulder. You watched as Ignis ran his hand through his hair and tried to find words to say something; his expression unreadable as he focused his attention on the black and white marbled floor.

After a moment of silence, his emerald green gaze met your questioning one with intensity.

“Listen, I _must_ apologize. Not only for that, but also for the way I have treated you back then.” Ignis admitted hesitantly.

Glancing from left to right to see if there was anyone else around in the corridors, you raised a perfectly arched eyebrow in complete disbelief as you turned to face him again.

“What?” You blurted as you blinked multiple times in shock.

Ignis took a couple of steps forward as he kept his intense gaze on you; his tall, athletic form easily towering over your petite, svelte figure as his closeness drew another blush from you.

“I have never meant for harm to befall you. It was never my intention, truly. It appears that through the years, my best intentions only made things worse between us. I can understand why you wouldn’t deem me trustworthy,” Ignis stated.

Tentatively, he reached out to touch your tearstained cheek, but you flinched and took a step back. Ignis stared back at you inquisitively.

“Did Noct…?” Ignis started to ask, as he slightly tilted his head and studied the ruined makeup on your face, but you quickly cut him off.

“N-no, I was the one who turned him down. I know I’m unworthy of his courtship, so it’s better if he finds someone else,” You admitted brokenly, before turning away from Ignis.

You recalled the encounter with Prince Noctis out in the gardens and the heartbreaking feeling of betrayal and confusion that you felt earlier were causing tears to form in your eyes.

 _No, I will not look weak. Not in front of him or anyone…_ You thought firmly with resolve as a lone tear fell from your eye.

Suddenly, you felt a pair of arms slowly wrap around your waist as Ignis’ firm chest pressed against your back; gently he placed his chin on top of your shoulder.

The way he held you in his arms made you melt and your brain go fuzzy, as if it were a broken T.V. His embrace was affectionate and warm, yet it also made you feel as though nothing else in the world existed nor even mattered. It felt soothing.

“I’m afraid that I am familiar with what you are experiencing…” Ignis murmured after a long moment of silence from holding you. “…The pain of letting someone go, despite your affections towards them, but you are certainly not unworthy.”

You gave a dry chuckle.

“Gee, thanks.” You replied sarcastically.

“Do you doubt my sincerity?” Ignis asked.

“We weren’t exactly friends before now…” You said dryly, but despite your words, you silently wished that Ignis wouldn’t let you go.

However, Ignis removed his hands from your waist and placed them on both of your shoulders; turning you around so that you faced him. Both of your eyes were locked on each other. Your pair of eyes held a doubtful look, while his pair of green eyes were unwavering.

“Would you believe that we used to be best friends a long time ago?” Ignis murmured as he drew closer.

Your heart dropped at his statement. There was no way that he could mean…?

There was absolutely _no_ way…

“W-what…?” You replied shakily as you searched his eyes.

Tentatively, Ignis reached up to stroke your cheek and sighed slightly in defeat.

“Then your memories have yet to return…” Ignis trailed quietly as he tucked a stray strand of hair away behind your ear.

Your heart was beating thunderously in your ears now as a chill ran down your spine.

Ignis…he remembered everything?

“You mean…about Palladia?” You asked hesitantly before you swallowed hard.

Silently, you watched Ignis nod carefully as he watched for any reaction from you.

“We were inseparable before that incident. The last time we saw each other was-” He started to explain.

“Back in the hospital.” You finished and Ignis nodded again, but this time with a small, relieved smile.

You released a shaky breath.

“H-how long have you’ve known-?” You asked uneasily.

Slowly, Ignis removed his left hand from your shoulder, held out his hand and pulled back the sleeve of his buttoned-down shirt; exposing his wrist.

“A few months after our last encounter…three years ago, in the King’s study. After that, some of my memories have returned in the form of dreams whenever I sleep. Although, it was hard to distinguish if it was real at all from the start.” Ignis explained.

You stared at his exposed wrist, suppressing the urge to touch it in fear of more bad memories, but at the same time longing to find the answers that Ignis seemingly knew. Wordlessly, Ignis pulled his sleeve back up to cover his wrist again.

After a moment of internal debating, your curiosity became too great to ignore.

“May I…?” You asked timidly as you gestured to his wrist.

“Are you sure? You may not like what you see,” Ignis replied concernedly as he reached out to tenderly stroke your cheek.

Biting your lip anxiously, you nodded in response.

“Yes. I want to know… I _have_ to know.” You said in firm resolve.

Frowning slightly in disapproval, Ignis reluctantly pulled back his sleeve again and held out his wrist for you. With trembling hands, you reached out and wrapped your hand around it. Your fingers barely made contact with his warm skin, before the familiar sensation overcame your sensations.

Once again, your vision became blurry and faded into a sea of white as your whole body felt as though it was swaying. As the vision started to clear, you could hear a music box lullaby being played nearby.

“ _Ignis, my dear. You have been watching her all day. Nothing is going to happen to her again._ ” A woman’s gentle voice echoed within your memory; speaking the same foreign language that your mother spoke.

As your eyes adjusted to the light of the room, you realized that you were in a frilly, white bassinet with a white crib mobile slowly rotating above you, playing its soothing lullaby. Glancing over to your left, however, you spotted a young boy around the age of three with light brunette hair and large green eyes staring down at you in awe from the side of your bassinet.

“ _But she’s going to get sick again. I have to watch her._ ” Ignis replied also speaking the same language, as he continued to stare at you with his large, bright eyes.

“ _Yes, Sweetheart, you are her protector. However, she is feeling well now. There is no need to worry._ ” The woman reassured as she came closer to Ignis’ side. You couldn’t see her face as the top of the bassinet obscured it, but from what you could tell, you could see that she was well-dressed.

“ _But Mother_ -” Ignis started to whine.

You watched as the woman picked up the young Ignis and placed him upon her hip; your vision fading to white just as Ignis’ mother walked away from the crib with him.

“ _The best doctors are always taking care of her too, just in case. Now come along, our great protector. You are well overdue for your nap._ ” The woman’s voice echoed into the emptiness.

As your vision started to clear and readjust itself again, you could hear a piano being played nearby.

Looking to your right across a large, lavishly furnished living room, you could see a 10 year old Ignis sitting on the bench of a white piano playing a gentle, yet lively classical tune effortlessly. You became so enthralled in the way that he played the piano, that you became startled when something heavy slipped off your head and fell onto the floor.

Glancing down at what fell from your head, you spotted a pile of books on the massive, ornately decorated rug upon the floor. However, before you could kneel to pick them up, a large and plump stern looking woman with a high bun, dressed in black stood in your way.

Taking your small hand in one of her large plump ones, she took a wooden ruler and swiftly struck the back of your hand twice.

“ _Pay attention, young lady_.” The woman scolded sternly in the same foreign language that your mother used, before she knelt and picked up the books.

Just as the woman stood back up with the books collected in her hands, Ignis finished the song that he was playing and turned to glance over his shoulder at you; wearing a small smile.

Once again, your vision faded to white. However, when the vision began to clear, you weren’t greeted by any sound of music, instead you were greeted by the sound of a woman sobbing somewhere.

You were lying down on a lavish couch, covered in a blanket in a dark living room that was dimly lit by a warm, crackling fire in a fireplace on the other side of the massive room. To your left, you could hear heavy rain hitting upon the giant windows that were covered by drawn, ornate curtains, but that wasn’t the sound that originally woke you up from your slumber.

Sleepily, you raised your head and looked around the room.

Immediately, you spotted a familiar book next to where your head was lying and you realized that you were not sleeping alone on the couch as the book lie open on someone else’s lap. Looking up from the book, you spotted a sleeping 10 year old Ignis behind you. The both of you shared the same soft blanket and judging from the look of things, it was apparent that he had read you the book until you both fell asleep.

Glancing down at the open book, you noticed why it looked so familiar in the first place. It was the book of Cosmogony, that told the legends behind each of Eos’ Astrals and it was currently left open on the page with Leviathan, the Hydraean.

Once again, the sound of a woman sobbing caught your attention, but it was not coming from this room, instead, it seemed as though it was coming from a closed door in the corner of the living room.

Curiously, you shifted under the cover, before removing it and rose to your feet; heading towards the closed door. Just as you made it halfway across the dimly lit living room to the door, a groan caught your attention from behind you.

“ _Mmph…what are you doing?_ ” Ignis asked sleepily as he rubbed his eyes and yawned.

“ _Shh, Iggy!_ ” You hushed him; pointing to the door you were heading to.

Confused, Ignis tilted his head as he heard the sobs and rose to his feet; heading towards you.

Ignis grabbed your hand, before the pair of you tiptoed quietly to the door; pressing your backs and ears against the wall next to the door.

The voices were muffled, but they sounded familiar to you and just to confirm, you turned and looked up at Ignis, who still held your small hand.

 _“Sounds like your mother…and King Regis perhaps_?” Ignis gathered; keeping his voice low.

 _“He’s here? Then Noct must be too, but why is my Mom crying?”_ You asked, but Ignis shrugged in response.

“ _Not sure… It’s hard to tell with the door closed. Come on, let’s go to bed. It’s really late._ ” Ignis said as he tugged your hand to leave, but instead of leaving with him, you did the opposite.

Letting go of Ignis’ hand, you went to the door and carefully pulled the handle; quietly pulling the door open to a crack and causing Ignis to hiss your name in panic.

However, it seemed as though no one on the other side of the door noticed, as the conversation that was going on never ceased.

“…I don’t know what to do. I can’t believe he’s dead… Oh Gods, Regis. Why is this happening? Are you _sure_ it’s him?” You heard your mother cry; but you noticed that she wasn’t speaking in the foreign language that she usually spoke in, instead she spoke in fluent Lucian.

Another voice, one that had never spoke before until now, began to answer your Mother’s question.

“I hate to tell you this, but it’s true, Marcella. Just got back from the accident scene earlier this evening. It’s definitely him, but the Crownsguard will need you to identify his body when you return. I’m sorry for your loss.” A familiar male’s voice replied apologetically.

You hear your mother huffed indignantly.

“You expect me to believe that a car accident, _of all things_ , killed him? That doesn’t make any sense and the both of you know this!” Marcella yelled heatedly.

Peering around the corner of the door, you could see your mother pacing frantically back and forth in the small office, before King Regis approached her and placed both of his hands upon her shoulders to stop her.

“I agree that the circumstances surrounding his death are suspicious, but there’s nothing further we can do, my love. We have no proof that the accident was intentional. Cor and I will continue to look into this, but even if it was intentional, someone has covered their tracks well.” Regis stated.

Your heart dropped.

 _What_ did Regis just called your Mom?

“It’s someone in the Alliance, I just _know_ it. There’s too many suspicious deaths and incidents going on for this to be a coincidence. Ever since we started the draft of the Treaty, someone’s been going after us…someone doesn’t want the Treaty to happen.” Marcella stated as she backed away from the Lucian King.

Another figure appeared in you and Ignis’ line of sight and once again, it felt as though your heart dropped.

 _Dad…?_ You thought.

You watched as the Marshal of the Lucian Crownsguard approached your mother and tenderly embrace her as she began to sob again.

“She’s right, Regis. There’s something going on here and I think that this time, whoever it is, may have got one of their targets tonight. We have to step up security…for everyone in the Alliance.” Cor said, as he rubbed your mother’s back soothingly.

“Perhaps you should return to the Citadel-” Regis suggested, but your mother shook her head.

“No please, you know that I can’t…not since the miscarriage. Besides, Aulea and your son… it wouldn’t be right.” Marcella trailed as she pulled away from Cor; wrapping her arms around herself.

 _What? A miscarriage? What the hell…?_ You thought bewilderedly as your eyes glanced between the three adults.

You knew that Cor was keeping something from you, but it seems that there was something going on between the trio.

“Then stay with me, at least until after The Trial,” Cor offered huskily as he gently took Marcella by the hand.

Marcella pulled away from him and shook her head as she began to sob again.

“How am I even going to tell my daughter about what happened tonight? She’s going to be devastated and she’s frail enough as it is.” Marcella choked out between sobs, before placing a hand over her mouth to stifle the sound.

Glancing back at Ignis, he wrapped his arms around you in a warm hug.

“ _Something bad has happened. Come on, we should go to bed before they find out that we have overheard them_.” Ignis said, before taking your hand in his again and leading you away from the door.

“ _What do you think happened?_ ” You asked curiously.

As the pair of you made it to the living room’s door to exit out of it, your vision began to fade into white once again, but this time you could feel that this was the last memory.

“ _I don’t know, but I think we are going to find out about it tomorrow_.” Ignis’ reply echoed into the white emptiness.

Suddenly, you found yourself back in one of the Citadel’s hallways.

There were so many burning questions…so much that you’ve just learned.

With a wide, inquisitive gaze, your eyes locked with Ignis’ green eyes.

“Ignis… I’m so sorry.” You whispered shakily.

Ignis was always there for you. Even as an infant, he watched over you and made sure that you were alright. Yet, after the incident in Palladia, you’ve treated the brunette so poorly.

Placing his hands upon your shoulders, Ignis started to lean forward and suddenly, you were aware of how loud your heart was beating.

“It’s alright. I just wanted you to know that I have always cared about you. Always have and always will. More than you would ever know…” Ignis confessed, before his lips descended upon yours.

The sudden feeling of his warm lips on yours was surprising, but not as surprising as his confession, which had taken you aback. As the kiss deepened, the words he previously mentioned started to register in your mind.

 _“The pain of letting someone go, despite your affections towards them…”_ Ignis’ words rang through your head.

 _Was he talking about me?_ You wondered.

Ignis’ kiss was unlike the others.

While each kiss from the other three guys were a bit different from each other, they all had something in common; they were being careful, by holding back. However, with Ignis, the way he kissed you was more uninhibited as if he was prepared to do this with you.

Something about this kiss held a deeper meaning. There was more of an emotional connection between you two, than what you had with the others and for once, you didn’t feel the guilt associated as you did when you were kissing the other three.

This kiss felt more definite; not a single doubt in your mind.

Without further hesitation, you parted your mouth and allowed Ignis’ warm tongue to explore it. You moaned lustfully as he placed his hands on the small of your back, pulling you flush against him as his tongue skillfully swept over yours, gently coaxing yours to dance along with his in long, languid strokes.

To your pleasant surprise, Ignis was much similar to Gladio in terms of their kissing skill. There were differences, of course. Both kisses promised something more, something carnal…but with Ignis, it was more caring in a way, rather than just based solely on lust.

You began to wonder where the brunette acquired this level of skill as it was obvious that he had a _lot_ of practice, but before you could follow that train of thought, Ignis slowly pulled away from the kiss; finishing the kiss by gently sucking on your plump lips with tiny kisses.

Placing each of his large, soft hands on each of your flushed cheeks, he gazed tenderly into your eyes.

“ _You have no idea how happy this makes me. How relieved I feel, now that you are aware of our past together_.” Ignis smiled warmly as he placed his forehead against yours and closed his eyes; speaking in the other language.

“What happened to us, Iggy?” You asked quietly.

Ignis shook his head and frowned slightly.

“I’m finding out as much as I can, love. There are some complications that I am running across and apparently, things are far much deeper than what it seems.” Ignis explained.

“My mother…she said not to trust the Insomnian and Tenebrae households before she died. What did she mean?” You asked; your voice dropping into a whisper.

 _“Your mother was right; they are **not** to be trusted. There is a good reason why I took on the role as Noct’s future advisor, but loyalty to the Caelum family isn’t one of them.”_ Ignis implied; replying in the other language as a precaution.

“You’re a sp-?” You started to say, but Ignis gently placed his index finger upon your lips.

“ _It’s better if you stay out of this, my love. This is dangerous and it has dire consequences, should things go wrong. I have sworn to protect you and I intend on upholding that vow_.” Ignis said as he removed his finger from your lips and began to stroke your cheek.

“But I need to know what happened! I _have_ to know,” You demanded; still keeping your voice low as you were being mindful of your surroundings.

Ignis leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss upon your forehead, before he reached in his pocket and pulled out cellphone which was vibrating from an incoming call.

 _“Patience was never your strong suit, even when we were younger. Nevertheless, you will know in due time. Meanwhile, please refrain from prying, especially around the Citadel. I shall fill you in on more details tomorrow. Get some rest, love.”_ Ignis said, before you watched him walk away and answer his phone.

After Ignis walked away, you realized that your heart had been racing this entire time; unconsciously you clutched your chest.

Tonight certainly was the most interesting night you’ve ever had…so far.

~*~*~

Silently, he watched as Cor’s daughter clutched her chest after the brunette had left from their conversation. He couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying from the distance that he was at, but he suspected that it was about what happened back in Palladia.

That wasn’t what had bothered him though.

He had seen **_it_**.

He had seen them… ** _together_**.

Embracing each other as if they were lovers that had been reunited after being an eternity apart, but it wasn’t the embrace that sent him over the edge.

They kissed…and not too long after he shared the same kiss with her. Seeing that made his blood boil and he was surprised that he hadn’t run up to them and ripped the pair apart with his bare hands.

He knew he shouldn’t be such a hypocrite, but it was hard not to be.

He just saw his male ex-lover and female crush kiss each other, yet despite the kiss being hot to look at, he couldn’t help the surge of anger and jealousy that awoke in his body.

Furiously, Gladiolus balled his fists so tightly that it actually drew blood from beneath his fingertips.

“So, this is the game we’re playing, huh? Guess I’m not the only hypocrite around here.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For further updates and chapter discussions, please check out my Facebook page: https://facebook.com/SakuraAngelOfficial
> 
> ~*~*~  
> NOTE:
> 
> It may be a while before I can update again, I'm aiming for next week (hopefully), but our new manager at work has been ruthless and we're just miserable and too tired to enjoy ourselves when we get home, which makes it hard for me to find the energy to write.
> 
> I know, this totally sucks, but I'm trying! 
> 
> Anyway, thank you for being such awesome readers! And by the way, if you think we're half-way through finding out all of the reader's secrets in her past...you're mistaken. ;3
> 
> Tee-hee-hee... >:3
> 
> Until next time~! *hugs*
> 
> ~*~*~  
> NEXT TIME:
> 
> Chapter 8: Risky Business (Ignis' POV)
> 
> The day after the kiss with Cor's daughter, Ignis finds someone waiting for him...


	8. Risky Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day after the kiss with Cor's daughter, Ignis finds someone waiting for him...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Lovelies~! Long time, no see~!
> 
> I know, you probably thought I dropped off the face of the planet or died...well, you know me, I'm only dead on the inside. Eheh, eheheheheh...yeah. Anyway, I know it's been forever since I've last updated, but thank you for your continuous support!
> 
> Just seeing the Kudos and comments I receive in my emails are always putting a smile on my face, even during my bad days! So, thank you very much! I love you guys! *big hug*
> 
> Without further ado, here's chapter 8...
> 
> BUT WAIT...this time, I have an ACTUAL warning for this chapter! 
> 
> *le gasp*  
> ~*~*~  
> WARNING: This chapter contains descriptive details about BLOOD, GORE and VIOLENCE involving CHILDREN. This was really difficult to write and may be difficult to read (for some), but it is necessary as those details will be revisited again in later chapters.
> 
> So...SORRY LOVELIES~ (T^T)

**Chapter 8:** _Risky Business_

~*~*~

The heavy downpour of rain made visibility almost next to impossible, yet he could still see them from a distance. Trembling hard, a little girl donned in white robes clung onto the hem of Marcella's dress as thousands of onlookers above him watched the scene unfold below from the balcony.

" _But Father, what if she drowns_?" A young Ignis inquired with worry; squinting through the rain to look up at the older male.

Although his father heard him, he ignored Ignis, who stood by his side and chose to keep his focus on the small group of people in front of them instead. When his father didn’t answer him, Ignis anxiously turned to the woman who stood by his other side; holding his hand.

" ** _Mother_** ?" Ignis urged.

From his line of view, Ignis saw Gladiolus and Prompto peering at him from next to his mother; obviously overhearing his question and waiting for an answer.

" _...Then that is the will of the Gods_." Ignis' father finally answered with a heavy sigh.

Everyone watched as a familiar young girl with platinum blond hair wielding a trident nearly twice her size approached Marcella's daughter and led the reluctant girl away by hand through the rain.

" _Mom_...?" Everyone heard the younger girl whimpered as she glanced over her shoulder with wide, frightened eyes.

Marcella merely said nothing, in fact, the woman became stoic as she watched her daughter being led towards a dock. The crowd standing above them upon a balcony became eerily silent as the pair of girls dressed in white walked by.

" _She can't swim..._ " Ignis heard Noctis utter as the raven-haired boy stared ahead in silent horror. He, Queen Aulea and King Regis stood on the other side of Ignis' father, along with a middle-aged woman and teenaged boy with platinum blonde hair.

Ignis' heart felt as though it had dropped from several stories of a tall building upon hearing what Noctis said. The sweet, yet frail girl had never learned how to swim and Ignis knew that it was because she was often ill. Even this rain worried him, because she may catch a cold or something far worse.

However, this ceremony…

The two girls had finally made it to the edge of the dock and upon doing so, the youngest of the pair turned her back from the water to face towards the crowd and shakily placed each of her tiny hands across her chest, before she visibly swallowed.

It was as though Ignis could hear everyone’s nervous heartbeats and anxious inhales of their breaths through the silence in the rain. Even his mother, tightly held his hand as she drew in a worried breath.

This ceremony could go bad…very bad at any given moment.

Ignis wished to do something, _anything_ to stop this, but absolutely no one was allowed to interfere.

A small scuffle could be heard on the other side of Ignis’ mother and everyone’s attention in the crowd was suddenly turned to a young, angry Gladiolus trying his hardest to push past an older male who held him back.

“ _She’s not ready! She’s **not** ready_!” Gladiolus shouted repeatedly as he tried to break away.

Ignis felt a firm hand being placed upon his shoulder, just as he took a couple of steps forward.

“ _Ignis, don’t...”_ His father warned sternly, before the young brunette could form a protest.

Even if Ignis tried to get to her, like Gladiolus, it was already too late.

The young girl took one last look at her struggling friends, before she drew a large breath, closed her eyes and fell backwards into the water. Marcella’s stoic face, had tears streaming down her cheeks as she watched her daughter sink further and further into the water.

However, the thing that had always haunted Ignis was not how hard Marcella had cried after her daughter had disappeared into the depths of the water…no, it was the last look in the young girl’s eyes that she gave them before falling in. As if she was pleading for anyone to stop her…

Ignis knew he had failed to protect her, despite being her sworn protector and it was the thing that haunted him during rainy days ever since some of his memories returned.

Sighing gloomily as he stared up at the rainy sky through the windshield of his car, Ignis nearly forgot that he was driving until the red light he was sitting at turned green.

It was a little after 1 am when Ignis finally returned to his apartment. The heavy rain outside had started to calm down to a light drizzle during the rest of his car ride home and by the time he had parked in the apartment’s underground parking lot, the rain ceased completely.

It was an eventful night, to say the least.

Ignis had received a phone call, informing that the King had allowed the Crown Prince to sleep-in for the following morning and that he was excused from his usual scheduled activities if the Prince did not feel like attending them. It was the weekend after all, but under the current circumstances, Noct would probably choose to lock himself in his bedroom rather than hang out with his friends.

Not too long after receiving the schedule change, Ignis spotted the Crown Prince coming in from the Citadel’s main garden. Noctis was soaking wet from the heavy rainfall and was shivering because from being cold; his drenched clothes clung to his body tightly, indicated that he had been outside for a while.

As Ignis helped Noct get upstairs to his room via elevator, neither of them shared a word.

Noct was in a foul mood from what Ignis could sense and from what the Marshal’s daughter had told him not too long ago, he could presume that it was because she had rejected the Prince’s romantic advances.

Ignis didn’t know exactly how to feel for Noctis.

Sure, he was glad that she had rejected Noct, but he also felt bad for the raven-haired Prince; knowing that he would feel the same if the Marshal’s daughter had rejected him as well.

Playing the role as the Crown Prince’s friend and future advisor had its consequences. Consequences such as getting too attached to the subject he was supposed to observe. Spying on the Lucian Prince meant that he had to get close to him and his inner circle, by all means.

Although, the target intended wasn’t Noctis himself…

As they reached the Crown Prince’s bedroom, Ignis helped Noct to remove his drenched clothing; tearing his eyes away from Noct’s tempting slender, partially naked form before going to the private bathroom to start filling the bathtub with hot water.

As Ignis went to retrieve some of the soap and bathing supplies for Noct, he frowned as a thought occurred to him.

Maybe he _was_ becoming too attached to the Crown Prince...

Surely, he was playing his role well as a spy, but how far was he really taking this?

Ignis needed answers…answers for his past that Noctis didn’t have, but answers that King Regis held.

If the current Lucian King was found responsible for the Great Massacre, which resulted in the murder of his parents, then Ignis had to get rid of his attachment to the Crown Prince as it may come to killing King Regis in an act of vengeance.

Ignis had gained his some of his memory back in bits and pieces. However, from everything he had gathered from those, it was clear that his family as well as many others, were the intended targets to get rid of in order for a greater scheme to start taking hold.

All the royal families, except for Tenebrae and Lucis, were wiped out along with their its associates as a way to completely cleanse their governments and their chain of commands at the time, but _why_?

It made no sense, no matter which way Ignis looked at it.

Plus, the fact that nearly everyone involved were either dead, had their memories of the event altered or kept it tightly sealed behind closed lips with the evidence of the massacre missing was truly alarming and disturbing, to say the least.

It pained him and terrified him to find the truth, but Ignis wanted to uncover the truth. Not only for himself, but to bring closure and justice for the others...

Pausing after he caught a glance of his troubled expression in the mirror, Ignis sighed and straightened himself; settling his previous expression into a more neutral, stoic one.

There was no room for weakness, especially around Lucis' royal family.

It was of _absolute importance_ to play his role well...

After Ignis gathered the rest of the bathing supplies for Noctis, he returned to the Crown Prince’s bedroom and found the raven-haired teenager sitting on the edge of his bed in nothing but his boxers; his head lowered with his bangs covering his eyes.

“Noct…” Ignis called gently as he stepped back into the massive bedroom.

It took a moment for Noctis to respond as he was deep in thought, but after a long moment of silence, Noct sighed and slowly rose to his feet; heading to the bathroom to take his bath.

Noct only paused for a moment when he was right by Ignis’ side; a slight hesitation as he looked up at the older teenage male with a questioning look in his deep blue eyes.

“Are you alright?” Ignis asked quietly; tilting his head somewhat.

Noct merely nodded and looked away, before heading into his private bathroom.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Noctis said curtly.

Before the Crown Prince could close the door behind him, Ignis spoke.

“You will call me if you need anything?” Ignis asked with slight concern lacing his voice.

Noctis nodded once again.

“Yeah, sure.” With that, the Crown Prince merely bade his advisor goodnight before quietly closing the bathroom door behind him; leaving the Advisor alone in the massive darkened room of the Lucian heir.

Ignis sighed heavily; feeling a bit conflicted after Noctis left.

It was a bittersweet win, but a win, nonetheless.

The girl of their dreams chose him over Noctis and although it felt good to have that, it also made Ignis feel somewhat guilty.

Mentally, Ignis shook his head at the very thought and visibly frowned.

Why should he feel guilty about something like that? If King Regis was truly behind the massacre, then it was better to get the girl he loved as far away from the murderer as possible.

After gathering some comfortable, warm sleepwear and placing it neatly on the bed for the Prince, Ignis took one last long look at the bathroom door, before exiting the bedroom.

As Ignis stepped out his stylishly sleek black car that he parked in his designated parking spot in the underground garage of the apartment complex, he couldn’t help but to sigh heavily again as he made his way to a nearby elevator and headed up to his floor.

He had to throw away these complicated feelings that he felt for the Crown Prince and focus on achieving the main objective…

…to find the truth of what happened in Palladia.

“Didn’t expect you to come home so late. What took you so long, Iggy?” A deep rugged voice said, just as Ignis turned the key to his apartment door and pushed it open.

Lying upon the sleek, black leather couch in the living room of his apartment was Gladiolus; his arms resting comfortably behind his head as his boot-clad feet rested upon the arms of the couch.

Gladio had shed his dark green leather jacket on a nearby recliner and was wearing a tight black tank top with white pants; smirking deviously as Ignis entered the apartment.

“Didn’t expect to have company tonight. Why are you here, Gladio? The keys I gave you to my apartment were for _emergency use only_ ,” Ignis replied coolly as he entered the apartment, closing the door behind him and walking past the lounging older male to a nearby closet.

“Thought you could use some company tonight. That kinda qualifies as an emergency, right?” Gladiolus smirked; ignoring the fact that Ignis wasn’t in the mood to entertain him.

Ignis began to hang up his coat, before shutting the closet's door and headed over to kitchen to make some coffee; not bothering to look over at Gladio once.

“Hmm. Have you already exhausted your extensive list of lovers who would be willing to entertain you tonight?” Ignis quipped in slight annoyance as he grabbed the coffee from a nearby cabinet.

Gladiolus’ smirk grew into a large grin as he sat up and glanced behind him at the brunette that was in the partially-open kitchen.

“A year later and you’re still mad about that, huh?” Gladio asked as he rose from the couch and strode over to the kitchen.

“Not necessarily. In fact, I should be grateful that our relationship didn’t work out…” Ignis trailed with a meaningful smirk to himself just as Gladiolus walked up behind him and wrapped his large muscular, tattooed arms around his trim waist; mentally stifling a moan as he felt something hot and hard pressing against his ass.

Gently, Gladiolus placed his chin upon Ignis’ shoulder as he watched him scoop the coffee grounds into the paper filter.

“Why? Because you finally had the chance to kiss the new Lieutenant tonight.” Gladio murmured huskily into his ear.

Ignis abruptly stopped his actions and tensed slightly in the larger male’s arms.

Recovering from Gladio’s statement, Ignis pushed his glasses back up with his index finger and continued as if nothing occurred.

“I see. So, the cat’s out of the bag, I’m afraid,” Ignis replied casually.

Gladiolus merely pressed Ignis body closer to his as he pressed his still hardening cock against his ex-lover.

“Mmm…that’s not like you, Iggy. From what I remembered, you’re more careful about people seeing shit like that…but I saw the whole thing,” Gladiolus purred teasingly.

“Is that the reason why you’re here? How foolish of me…I actually believed that you were here for something more along the lines of pleasure, not confrontation.” Ignis scoffed as he broke away from Gladio’s embrace; retrieving water in the coffee pot from the nearby sink.

“I’m here for that too. But it’s hard for me to ignore someone touching what’s mine,” Gladio said; following close behind Ignis as he went over to the stove.

Ignis gave a dry chuckle.

“Yours?” Ignis scoffed in disbelief as he poured the water into coffee maker and turned it on.

Gladiolus stood back and watched the brunette with a lustful, heated gaze as he leaned against the counter-island behind them with folded arms.

“You seem to forget who she’s betrothed to, or did _that_ conveniently slip your mind?” Gladio stated with a small frown and a raised eyebrow.

“Considering the occurrence in Palladia, one would believe that your marriage arrangement to her is null,” Ignis replied coolly as he also folded his arms.

“That’s bullshit! So, you’re going to disregard her mother and my parents’ wishes, just like that?” Gladiolus huffed irritably as he folded his arms tighter; the muscles in his biceps flexed in annoyance.

“I am going to respect her choice in selecting a mate and it’s clear that the choice has been made,” Ignis stated brusquely.

It was at that exact moment Gladiolus chuckled mockingly at his ex-lover; smiling triumphantly as emerald eyes bore into dark amber when Ignis glared over his shoulder at the taller, dark-haired male.

“Hate to break it to ‘ya, Iggy. But you’re not the only one she’s kissed tonight. I think her memories are returning, because she warned me about Lucis and Tenebrae, while speaking in Solheimian on top of that. Right _after_ we kissed,” Gladiolus explained smugly as he unfolded his arms and headed over to where Ignis was cooking.

Ignis mentally frowned, but outwardly expressed no emotion as he tried to focus his attention on the slow drops of the coffee into the clear pot.

“Is that so?” Ignis responded curtly.

Smirking arrogantly, Gladiolus wrapped his arms around Ignis’ waist again and leaned closer to whisper into the Advisor’s ear.

“Hmm…looks like someone was being naughty tonight. But I have to admit, that kiss was fucking hot to watch. So hot, that I just had to come over to your place to get in on some of the action, Babe.” Gladio whispered huskily pressing his hard cock against Ignis’ ass again as his large hands roamed lower down Ignis’ stomach; slowly unbuckling the belt at his hips.

“I thought that you didn’t like it when someone touches what’s yours,” Ignis replied flatly.

“I think I can make an exception, considering that you used to be mine and that I want her too,” Gladio murmured throatily as he noisily planted tiny kisses along the brunette’s neck, all the way down to his collarbone where he began to suck and nip at the pale, smooth skin there.

Ignis really tried to remain focused on something else...hell, _anything else_ , but the taller, dark-haired male was making it too hard to concentrate now. It was nearly impossible to ignore the heat that he felt in his lower abdomen as the bulge in his pants was growing harder from Gladio’s actions.

Softly, Ignis couldn’t help but to moan.

“What are you saying, Gladio? Are you saying that you want me back?” Ignis breathed shakily as he turned off the coffee maker; knowing that whatever was going to happen between the two of them was going to take a while and would require his full undivided attention.

Finally able to unbuckle the belt of Ignis’ tightening black pants, Gladio smirked against Ignis’ neck just as his large hand trailed low enough to find what it was searching for; cupping and giving the Advisor’s hardening cock a slight squeeze through the fabric of his pants.

With his other hand, Gladiolus reached into the pocket of his white cargo pants and pulled out a pair of metal, heavy-duty handcuffs; dangling them in front of Ignis’ line of sight.

“Yeah, something like that. Maybe instead of fighting over her, we could share her instead. But first, I gotta punish you for going behind my back with this in the first place,” Gladiolus muttered seductively, before releasing his hold on Ignis’ stiffening shaft and pulling the spectacle-wearing brunette over with him to the leather couch.

Before Gladiolus could grab one of Ignis’ hands to place the handcuff on it, the younger male swiftly pulled back his hand and in one fluid motion, pushed Gladiolus onto the couch before climbing on top of him to straddle the newly inducted Crownsguard.

Grabbing Gladiolus’ wrist and pinning them above his head, Ignis took the handcuffs out of his hands before snapping them on around Gladio’s wrists; a sensual smile playing across his lips as he tightened the metal restraints on the larger male.

“You’re proposing that we share her…” Ignis purred as he ran his warm hands down the large expanse of Gladiolus’ chiseled, yet scarred chest and abs before sliding his hands underneath the black tank top to play with Gladio’s sensitive nipples.

Gladiolus moaned deep and low as he squirmed slightly from Ignis’ touch.

“Mm-hm. Better than fightin’ over her all the time. Plus, it’ll be hot as hell. You get to watch me fuck her…I get to watch you fuck her…we can both fuck each other and we can both fuck her at the same time. That way, she won’t have to choose who to stay with.” Gladiolus murmured, before he groaned sensuously as Ignis started to knead his rock-hard cock through the fabric of his cargo pants.

Gracefully, Ignis pulled up Gladiolus’ tank top, leaving it up around Gladio’s wrists where the handcuffs were, before slowly kissing his way down from Gladio’s chest to his stomach and stopping right above where the belt buckle was lying.

“Sounds like an ideal solution…however, there’s just one problem with this, Gladio.” Ignis said as he slowly unbuckled the belt restraint of his former lover.

Gladiolus raised his hips a little in an effort to help the brunette get his pants off much more quickly as Gladio felt that he wasn’t going to last long now; preparing himself for the delectable feeling of having Ignis’ mouth around his awaiting, twitching cock once more.

“What? You think she’s not gonna go along with it?” Gladiolus asked.

Ignis shrugged and smiled deviously, before taking Gladiolus’ belt and tightening it through the belt buckle; making it tighter than it was from before. However, before Gladio could even say something in protest, Ignis flicked the older male’s forehead hard with his middle finger before climbing off of his larger body; easily pissing off Gladiolus.

“She might go along with it, but _I_ won’t. I don’t share what’s mine.” Ignis stated curtly with a glare, before making his way to the bedroom to get undressed, leaving behind a restrained and very irritable Gladiolus squirming on the couch.

Gladio growled furiously, intensely glaring daggers into Ignis’ back.

“ _This_ is your payback?! Goddammit, Iggy…this isn’t funny! Let me go!” Gladiolus snapped.

Ignis merely shrugged as he paused at the threshold of his bedroom.

“You appear to be under the impression that I would take you back, Gladio. I thought I established that we were through when I broke up with you for being unfaithful. Now you want me to take you back _and_ indulge you with having another lover simultaneously. You insult me.” Ignis scoffed over his shoulder and entered into his room.

Gladio growled again, but this time more threatening as the feeling of his massive, hard cock being tightly confined in his pants with no access to relieve it was beyond uncomfortable.

“Iggy, she meant nothing to me! None of them did…all of it was just meaningless sex! How many times do I gotta apologize for you to get that, huh?” Gladio said as he continued to squirm.

Ignis began to remove his suspenders; fully intending on getting a cold shower to cool down from Gladiolus' sensual touches.

“Empty words,” Ignis replied coldly; causing Gladiolus to spit out a string of curses from the living room through gritted teeth.

“Fuck, babe! _Really_?! I thought you were already over this! Why even be friends when-” Gladiolus started, but Ignis cut him off quickly as he appeared in his bedroom's doorway with crossed arms.

“We remain friends because we play our roles so well amongst the royal Lucian household. We have the same goal in mind, unless you have become too involved in your role that your objective has changed.” Ignis said frostily as their glares clashed.

“…I didn’t forget, but I thought we were something more meaningful than a team.” Gladiolus replied; seething.

Casually, Ignis made his way over to the living room and gracefully climbed atop Gladiolus; straddling his waist once again. Leaning forward, so that their noses touched and their warm lips barely grazed against one another, Ignis spoke.

“We _were_ and you have broken that trust.” Ignis murmured; smirking against Gladiolus’ lips, before reaching down to palm the dark-haired male’s hardened cock through his white cargo pants.

Gladiolus growled irritably as he kept his heated, lust-filled gaze on the spectacle-wearing brunette above him. Ignis watched the irises of Gladio’s eyes slowly fade from brown to a glowing orange, before his growl intensified.

Ignis merely sat back up in a straighter position as he felt the aura around Gladio fill with crackling power before he watched his ex-lover’s eyes changed; not bothering to flinch when Gladiolus effortlessly broke out of the reinforced steel handcuffs with a loud _snap_ and a pair of _clinks_ upon the hardwood floor.

The moment Gladiolus freed himself from the metal restraints around his wrists, he tossed aside his tank-top, brought his large hands to Ignis’ cheeks and pulled the Advisor closer to his face; bringing the pair into a heated, yet sloppy passionate kiss.

Ignis groaned lewdly against Gladiolus mouth as the dark haired Crownsguard untucked Ignis’ shirt and slid his large, calloused hands underneath to feel the smooth, sensitive skin there as they lost themselves in the kiss.

The kiss was heated and was filled with much unbridled need that Ignis almost forgot that they had broken up. Gladio reached up and ripped the young Advisor’s shirt open, causing each of the buttons to pop off; growling seductively and licking his lips as he pulled away and took in the sight of the shirtless brunette.

" ** _Mine_**." Gladiolus growled possessively as he suddenly pulled Ignis flush against him.

All train of thought quickly derailing from the brunette as Gladiolus began to hungrily kiss him from his slender neck, across his chest, down his flat, yet toned stomach, only to stop where Ignis' pants hung onto his hips.

Gladio glanced up and watched as the young Advisor open his eyes. Instead of their usual, soft normal green color the Crownsguard was accustomed to, Ignis' eyes now glowed with the same intensity as Gladiolus' did, with the exception that they were now a bright, electric green.

" _Yours_." Ignis moaned in submission.

Impatiently and without warning, Gladio pushed Ignis onto his back and yanked down his pants along with his boxers in one fluid motion, before taking the brunette's hardened member into the moist, warmth cavern of his mouth; tasting a bit of precum that had formed at the head of Ignis' cock.

Ignis arched his back from the couch at the sudden contact and exhaled shakily as the Crownsguard pinned him back down with one large hand; eagerly sucking his sensitive cock. Grabbing a fistful of Gladiolus' dark, thick hair, Ignis moaned and began to pant as his lover stopped to lick his own fingers, before slowly plunging them inside of the brunette's tight passage. Gladiolus merely smirked as the royal Advisor cried out in pleasure and writhed wantonly underneath him as he stroked Ignis' most sensitive spot inside; practically making him see stars.

It wasn’t going to be long before Ignis reached his climax. He could feel it rapidly approaching and knowing that it was Gladiolus' skilled fingers inside spreading him open and getting him prepared was going to make him come hard.

Suddenly, the sound of a doorbell ringing in the apartment startled the pair from their actions.

Gladiolus watched as the electric-green glow from Ignis’ eyes started to fade back into its normal green color before the Advisor bit his bottom lip hard; hard enough to draw a bit of blood to snap him back to the present. Thinking along the same lines as the brunette, Gladiolus reached over to his other arm and gave it a hard pinch, also causing the bright, glowing color of his eyes to fade back to its normal hue.

Quickly, the pair removed themselves from the couch and scrambled for their clothes.

“…You must learn to control that better.” Ignis chided in between breaths as he hastily threw his pants back on.

Gladiolus slipped on his tank top back on and smoothed his hair; the small beads of sweat were visible as they had formed on his forehead.

“Speak for yourself. Besides, you started it,” Gladiolus said gruffly as he eyed Ignis lustfully; watching the Advisor frantically place on his now buttonless shirt.

"I'll get the door." Gladiolus offered, before striding over to open the door without waiting for Ignis' answer.

"Gladio, wait-" Ignis started.

The brunette watched as Gladiolus knelt down in front of the apartment's door and stood back up with a manila folder in one hand, while holding a small note in his other.

"It says, _'The price of disloyalty_ '..." Gladiolus read from the small note as Ignis carefully approached him.

"Any signatures?" Ignis asked as Gladiolus handed him the note for further inspection.

"Nope." Gladiolus replied as he opened the beige paper folder.

"And the contents of the folder...?" Ignis inquired cautiously, but Gladiolus instantly fell silent.

It was as if all of the color drained from the taller, dark haired male as his brown eyes widened at the material inside of the folder. One by one, Gladiolus turned each page in stunned silence as he examined its contents.

"Gladio...?" Ignis questioned as he peered over his lover's shoulder.

Immediately, Ignis regretted that decision as he felt his heart sink into his stomach with a huge chill going down his spine.

Gladiolus was going through a series of photographs...however, these weren't just ordinary photos...

These were photos of a gruesome and bloody crime scene.

Ignis' chest began to tightened as he recognized one of the victims in the gruesome, stomach churning picture that Gladiolus was fixed on.

A young, plump boy with blonde hair that was supposedly donned in a white suit was lying upon a pool of his own dark red blood with evidence marking tags placed next to his mangled body that was horrendously sliced in half.

"Prompto..." Ignis exhaled after a moment of not realizing he had held his own breath.

With shaking hands, Gladiolus turned the page and it felt as though all of the air had been knocked out of both of their lungs.

Lying face up on the concrete, with multiple deep cuts and stab wounds all over that soaked her beautiful, white dress in blood, was a familiar looking seven year old girl. The corner of her mouth trailed with dried blood and her dull, lifeless eyes were still open as a hilt of a dagger could be seen protruding from her forehead; the numbers used for evidence were next to her body and next to her head, near the dagger.

Instantly, Ignis brought his hand to his mouth as he tried to suppress the urge to vomit. Gladiolus quickly snapped out of his shock and bolted for the door; frantically searching down the halls for any sign of the person that could've slip it under the door.

~*~*~

"It's all done. Slipped it under the door, just like you said. But I don't see how any of this is gonna help boost my career." A young man with short silver hair stated as he placed his hands behind his head and slouched back in the leather seat of an expensive car.

"All in good time... A great journalist must know how to build a strong, compelling story!" An older male sitting next to him replied with a dark, sly smile.

"Yeah, but uh... Don't cha think crime scene pictures like this taking it a little too far?" The young man asked as he watched the older man's reflection in the window of the moving car.

"Ah, Dino was it? Sometimes getting your hands dirty is necessary and if you wish to move up in your career, a big story such as this would certainly draw a lot of attention. However, if you don't have the stomach for this, I understand. There _are_ risks involved, of course." The older man said.

"Sure, sure. I'm willing to do the job and I know what these kind of things entail, but what's in it for you? You're not gonna get famous or rich by remaining anonymous, so why help a little fry journalist like me?" The silver haired young man named, Dino asked.

"Let's just say that I've lost something a long time ago. But this will surely bring her right back to me..." The older man stated.

Casually, he took an old, rusted coin from his pocket and began to flip it with his thumb in one hand.

"And showing those horrible pictures is some sort of chick magnet to get your girlfriend, Mister?" Dino replied sarcastically with a chuckle.

The older man with dark red hair, chuckled darkly and tilted back his fedora with a smirk.

"Oh no, my dear boy. Please, call me Ardyn. Those photographs that you've delivered...well, that is what I love to call; _ammunition_." Ardyn smiled deviously as he examined the rusted coin.

Unexpectedly, he tossed the coin over to Dino, who immediately examined it as well. The coin was very similar to an Oracle Ascension Coin, but there were a few key differences.

' _SEER ASCENSION COIN: 743 M.E._ '

"Ammunition, you say? Looks like I got a lot of work cut out for me." Dino smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For further updates and chapter discussions, please check out my Facebook page: https://facebook.com/SakuraAngelOfficial
> 
> Also, I have a Tumblr now! *Woot-woot!* Sittin' with the cool kids~
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/sakuraangel1
> 
> ~*~*~  
> NOTE:  
> *cheesy soap opera music plays* 
> 
> Oh no...a wild Ardyn appears! And what's this? Dino??? But why? WHY?! And just as things started to get hot and heavy between Gladio and Iggy...what is going on with the weird glowing eye thing? A ceremony...a depressed Noctis? And reader, oh that poor reader, so much is happening! *drops on knees dramatically and shakes fist angrily into the air* POR QUE?!
> 
> *turns quickly back to the readers with a poorly glued handlebar mustache hanging off the face* I know, everything is going horribly right now. Will it get better, you ask? Nope.
> 
> We're just now jumping into the rabbit hole and you might things are complicated now, but nothing will compare to later. >:3
> 
> Muhahahahahaha...*cough cough*...muhahaha.
> 
> As for the next time I will update...hmm, I can say that it won't be as long as this last wait. But just hang in there and check in with me on Facebook or Tumblr (like some of you already have)!
> 
> Thank you, my Lovelies, for your support! (And for putting up with silly, ol' me)
> 
> Hopefully, I'll see you soon! (^_~) <3
> 
> *grabs popcorn for the comment section* Let's hear some theories from you guys, I'm curious~
> 
> ~*~*~  
> Chapter 9: Need/Want
> 
> A mysterious stranger with red hair and a fedora...why does he seem so familiar to you? He offers information about your past, but should you trust him or follow your instincts and run as far away as possible.
> 
> "Now, now...there's no need to run from me, Little One." Ardyn smirks.


End file.
